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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610201">a million little times</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/onakissgodknows/pseuds/onakissgodknows'>onakissgodknows</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Adventure Zone (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Porn With Plot, Temporary Character Death - The Stolen Century (The Adventure Zone), like. a LOT of plot, the boys are bad at feelings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:16:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,775</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610201</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/onakissgodknows/pseuds/onakissgodknows</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus thinks that falling in love with one's crewmate is surely bad enough, but it must be worse when it's with Taako, who probably doesn't feel the same way. Right?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lup &amp; Taako (The Adventure Zone), Magnus Burnsides/Taako</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a million little times</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I was going to write a sequel to the last Taagnus fic I posted (which is still on the table) but then I accidentally wrote 23K of Taagnus being stubbornly in love with each other, with a hearty side helping of Twin Feels. I truly, truly hope at least one person loves this fic as much as I loved writing it.</p><p>Head's up for content warnings: A couple of characters are touched (non-sexually) in ways that make them uncomfortable, by a person they dislike. To be more specific, it's just an arm around their shoulders, but they are visibly unhappy with it so if that's going to bother you please be aware. Also, there are a couple of injuries described in ways I wouldn't call graphic, but there are broken bones and blood.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time they kiss is a little bit clumsy, a little uncertain. They’ve both had a little too much of the wine the locals brew on this plane, its flavor sweet and a little smoky, and Magnus isn’t usually much of a wine drinker but he’s never tasted anything like this. The Starblaster crew had a picnic dinner out on a grassy hill, and one by one they all get back on board the ship, leaving Taako and Magnus as the last ones out.</p><p>Taako sighs, and sprawls on his back in the grass. The sun has set, leaving them under a deep blue night sky dotted with stars. “Not so different from home, huh?”</p><p>Magnus’s head is spinning in a comfortable sort of way as he lays down next to Taako. “Maybe if you squint.” He used to spend so many nights when he was younger gazing up at the stars that he’s not sure anything is ever going to feel as familiar and comfortable as his home planet. This, though – this isn’t bad. There is far worse company to be in.</p><p>Taako laughs. Not at him, but because he thinks what Magnus said is funny. Magnus turns to look at him in profile, the sharp lines of his angular face even sharper in the starlight, like Magnus might cut himself open if he touches him, but Taako is smiling and he looks happy.</p><p>It’s the wine. It has to be the wine, but the torch Magnus has been carrying for his enigmatic crewmate  burns brighter than ever and something in him says if it’s not now it might be never. (Never mind that they are positively <em>made</em> of time these days, never mind that there are probably better ways or places to do this, every instinct flooding Magnus’s youthful heart tells him <em>now now now, you’re alone with him and you’re so rarely alone with him and you’re both happy and that’s rarer and rarer nowadays and if you don’t do it now you’ll chicken out.)</em></p><p>Magnus puts his hand on Taako’s face and kisses him. Taako doesn’t seem surprised by it, just kisses him back with a contented sigh. Their lips move against each other, a little aimless and clumsy, but Taako tastes like wine and Magnus doesn’t hate it. Doesn’t hate it at all.</p><p>Taako’s eyes are still closed when Magnus pulls away, lips a little parted like he wants more. He smiles after a moment, and opens his eyes. “You’re sweet,” he says. </p><p>Magnus bites the inside of his cheek. He’s not sure sweet is what he’s going for, but there are worse adjectives Taako could have used to describe him.</p><p>With a sigh, Taako sits up and picks grass out of his long braid. Magnus is transfixed by his every motion, as he always is; there’s something graceful and mesmerizing in the way Taako moves, and Magnus drinks it in.</p><p>Taako sees Magnus watching, and turns his smile on him. “You are, you know. Sweet.”</p><p>“I don’t have to be,” Magnus says inexplicably. His mouth is ahead of his brain.</p><p>Taako laughs. “Hey, kiddo, how old are you?”</p><p>“I’m – “ Magnus pauses. They’ve gone through a few cycles now, but since time resets after each year, is Magnus truly getting older? Maybe not. He doesn’t feel older. “I’m twenty, I guess?” He doesn’t volunteer that he only turned twenty a few months before they left on their mission. He doesn’t bother trying to add up how many birthdays he’s celebrated on the Starblaster. He figures he’s twenty-four or twenty-five now, technically, but to someone like Taako the difference probably seems negligible. Anyway, his body isn’t aging, so maybe it doesn’t count.</p><p>Taako groans, pulling his hat down over his face. “Oh, Magnus, you’re a <em>baby</em>!” He peers out from under his wide brim, still smiling a little bashfully. “Absolute baby.”</p><p>Magnus sits up. “Well, how old are you?” Magnus asks, nettled. He can’t tell an elf’s age by looking at them. By human standards, he’d put Taako in his late twenties, maybe thirty, but that’s not quite right. Elves, both Taako and Lup included, have a certain quality about them, a certain ethereal agelessness that makes them impossible to pinpoint. At a glance, yes, they look like young humans - adults, but not <em>old</em>. Still, there’s something in their eyes that betrays the length of time they’ve actually spent on earth.</p><p>Taako laughs again. “I’m older than you’d guess.” He pauses. “Maybe younger than you’d guess, too.”</p><p>This does not make sense to Magnus in his semi-inebriated state, and he frowns. “I don’t get it. Does it matter?”</p><p>Taako sighs. “I suppose not, but still.” He looks at him carefully, gray eyes shiny in the starlight. “I know looking for trouble is kind of your thing, my man, but seems like there’s an awful lot to lose here.”</p><p>Magnus still doesn’t understand, but he knows how to read discomfort when he sees it. He thinks. He likes Taako a whole hell of a lot, but…. “Sorry. It was just a kiss, Taako. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”</p><p>“Mmkay.” Taako blinks at him slowly, a bit fondly. He draws his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them. He exhales softly and tips his head back to look at the sky. There’s a freckle on his face, just under his cheekbone, that’s bigger than the others and Magnus wants to kiss it. Can’t.</p><p>Taako sighs again, and stands in one fluid motion. “Think I’m gonna get to bed, Maggie. Coming?”</p><p>Magnus shakes his head. “I’ll stay out here awhile.”</p><p>“’Kay.” Taako runs his fingers affectionately through Magnus’s hair as he passes by. “Don’t hurt yourself thinkin’ too hard.”</p><p>Magnus will try not to.</p><p>After this, things are different between him and Taako. Not in a bad way, necessarily, there’s just a new tension between them. Sometimes Magnus looks at Taako to find Taako already watching him, quickly looking away when he’s spotted, and sometimes Taako catches Magnus looking at him when he shouldn’t be, too. Taako seems to find ways to spend time with Magnus even when he doesn’t have to, asking him for help in the kitchen even though Magnus usually makes things worse when he does, telling Magnus when he and Lup are going on excursions outside the Starblaster or whatever town or village they call home this year, in a pointed way that tells Magnus he’s invited to come with. Magnus often does.</p><p>He thinks he’s broken down some wall Taako had up, but he’s not sure if it was with the kiss or with his reaction to it.</p><p>As the years wear on, there’s a certain looseness and comfort in the way Taako carries himself around Magnus. He’s not perfectly at ease the way he is around Lup, not yet, but Magnus could swear Taako relaxes when Magnus is around.</p><p>That said, Magnus can easily reason this away. He thinks most of his crewmates feel a little safer when Magnus is there. That’s what he’s for, right? That’s why they brought him on board.</p><p>The “g’night, kiddo” Taako tends to give him once they’re turning in for the evening does a lot to put out the fire burning in Magnus’s chest, but it’s not enough to extinguish it altogether. So the torch burns on.</p><p>One of the years (Magnus has lost count) ends particularly badly. They can’t get to the Light of Creation, and everyone but Lucretia and the twins die fighting the Hunger in the end.</p><p>They rematerialize on the Starblaster as usual, and, as usual, Magnus finds himself a little disoriented before he gets his bearings.</p><p>He’s here. He’s back, he’s okay, and so are his friends.</p><p>Lup throws Taako a furious glance and storms away from him, which prompts Taako to say “Hey – Lulu, come on!” and rush after her. Lucretia hustles to the cockpit to help Davenport land the Starblaster on whatever plane they’re making their home for the next year. Merle goes after her and Barry disappears to wherever Barry goes after they respawn, leaving Magnus to wander the ship on his own for a while, feeling kind of sad and frustrated the way he tends to after he dies. After he fails.</p><p>A few hours later, after they land the Starblaster and do a cursory exploration of their general surroundings, Magnus heads back to the ship and to his own room, lost in thought. To his surprise, he finds Taako sitting on the floor outside Magnus’s room, as if he’s been waiting.</p><p>Magnus stops in his tracks and frowns. “Hi.”</p><p>“Oh – hi, Mags.” Taako scrambles to his feet, sniffling a little, and scrubs at his eyes with his sleeve.</p><p>Immediately concerned, Magnus goes to him and puts a hand on his arm. “Is everything all right? Where’s Lup?”</p><p>Taako shrugs with one shoulder. “No, I’m okay. Lup’s somewhere. Mad at me.”</p><p>“Lup’s mad at you?” Magnus says incredulously. Taako and Lup argue on a semi-regular basis, usually over inane things like Taako using too much cinnamon and not enough nutmeg in his French toast, but Magnus can’t fathom Lup being legitimately angry with Taako.</p><p>Taako shrugs again. “It’s not a big deal. She’s mad I wouldn’t let her go back and die with you guys. What a mean brother I am, huh?” He tries to smile.</p><p>“I don’t think so,” Magnus says. “She’s your sister. Of course you don’t want to see her – you know – ‘cause you love her, right?”</p><p>“Yeah. We were already on the ship. I’m not just gonna let her – somebody’s gotta live every cycle, you know? Or we’re all fucked.” Taako’s lips tighten. Magnus isn’t sure if he’s trying to convince himself or Magnus.</p><p>“No, I know. I’m sorry she’s angry,” Magnus says sincerely.</p><p>“She’ll get over it,” Taako says flatly. “She can’t stay mad at me for <em>loving her</em>.”</p><p><em>I wouldn’t</em>, Magnus barely resists saying. <em>I wouldn’t if you loved me</em>. “Are you okay?” he asks gently.</p><p>Taako lets out a hollow little laugh. “That one <em>sucked</em>, my man. That respawn – seeing you all <em>die</em> – and then Lup actin’ like it’s my fault – “ He breaks off and wipes at his eyes again. “Fuck. I’m fine. We’re okay.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Magnus says, and touches Taako under the chin, tilting his face up. “What do you need?”</p><p>Taako considers, then leans in and just hugs Magnus, arms around his neck, face buried against his shoulder. Magnus freezes a little in surprise at first, then hugs back, so tight he gets worried about cutting off Taako’s air supply, so he loosens his grip after a moment and Taako laughs a little.</p><p>“No, it’s okay, bud, I needed that,” Taako says into Magnus’s shirt. “Maybe let’s get out of the hall.”</p><p>Magnus doesn’t want to let go of Taako, so he just picks him up and without missing a beat Taako wraps his legs around Magnus’s waist. Magnus pushes open the door to his bedroom and carries Taako inside.</p><p>It’s dimly lit in here, the way it always is when the cycle resets, but all the trinkets and memorabilia Magnus has collected over the years remain. He has a plaid bedspread he’s particularly fond of, and some wood carvings he’s bought, little ceramic animals he’s been given by friends he’s made, various weapons he’s acquired just because he thought they were cool. Taako has never been in here before and Magnus watches him look around after Magnus sets him down. He looks so elegant and out of place in the midst of Magnus’s rustic decorations.</p><p>Taako doesn’t let Magnus stay away from him for long; he grabs Magnus by the hands and pulls him close. He leans up on his tiptoes and nuzzles Magnus’s face, lips slightly parted. “Maggie, I….”</p><p>“Yeah?” Magnus whispers. He can’t feel anything but Taako’s breath on his face and Taako’s hands at his belt.</p><p>Taako kisses him with an urgency that’s almost shocking, that takes Magnus’s breath away like he’s been doused with cold water, and Magnus gasps, and surprises himself with how fervently he kisses back, grabbing Taako by the back of the head and holding him close.</p><p>He’s needed this like he’s needed air, he quickly realizes, and finally kissing Taako the way he’s wanted to for so long makes him think that before this point he was never really living.</p><p>“Come on,” Taako gasps against Magnus’s mouth, his hands fumbling with Magnus’s belt. “Take this off – Magnus, please – “</p><p>Magnus’s head is spinning. Taako can’t kiss him easily without being on tiptoe and he can’t stay on tiptoe forever, so Magnus grabs him by the ass and hoists him back into his arms. Taako knocks his own hat off, which hits the floor with a surprisingly loud <em>thunk</em>, and he kisses Magnus, hand in his hair. Lithe fingers tighten and pull and Magnus groans.</p><p>“I told you to take it off,” Taako says accusingly.</p><p>Magnus smiles deliriously. He carries Taako to the bed – he doesn’t have to go far – and drops him onto the mattress as gently as he can manage. Still, Taako kicks him lightly in the shin, then kicks off his own shoes. “C’mon, Mags,” Taako says, looking up at him through hooded eyes.</p><p>Magnus leans down to kiss him again, trying to process how quickly this has happened. “Are – are you sure?” He feels stupid for asking, but he has to ask. He can’t not ask.</p><p>“Yes,” Taako says, and pushes his knee up against Magnus’s crotch, where Magnus is, yeah, <em>responding</em>, one might say, and Taako grins appreciatively. “No complaint from you, huh? Come on, babe, show me a good time, would you?”</p><p>Magnus can do that. It’s been awhile since he got in bed with anybody, but his body knows what it wants. He grabs Taako by the upper arms, lifting him a little to scoot him back on the mattress, to give himself room to join him. He pauses for a moment to kick off his boots before jumping onto the bed, crowding Taako back against the pillows and kissing him again. Taako grabs him by the front of the shirt with one hand and seizes a handful of his hair again with the other, holding onto him tight like he’s keeping Magnus from getting away as they kiss. Taako’s breath is hot, his tongue insistent as it presses past Magnus’s lips into his mouth, and Taako lets out soft little gasps as Magnus’s hands go to work exploring Taako’s (regrettably still clothed) body.</p><p>Taako uses his grip on Magnus’s hair to tilt his head back; Magnus cut his hair shorter sometime during the last cycle but since the reset it’s long again, and this is making him think keeping it long is the way to go. Magnus feels Taako’s mouth on his neck, gently kissing his throat then moving up to mouth at the side of his jaw. Magnus shudders, tightening his grip on Taako’s waist and almost involuntarily pushing his hips forward to spread Taako’s thighs. Taako laughs softly. “Talk to me.”</p><p>Magnus doesn’t think he can. He can’t even look at Taako’s face, just at the red jacket he’s wearing and the black pants, it’s all standard IPRE stuff but Taako wears it so well, and yet all Magnus can think about is what’s underneath. So he goes to work unbuttoning Taako’s jacket, pushing him back against the pillows as he does so. He kisses his way down Taako’s throat, relishing the way Taako tips his head back with a sigh, kissing every inch of exposed skin until he runs into the neckline of Taako’s undershirt and Magnus groans in frustration. “Why are you <em>wearing</em> so much?” he demands of Taako.</p><p>“Same to you,” Taako says. “I <em>told</em> you to take your damn clothes off.” Taako shrugs his own jacket off and throws it to the floor, then does the same with his undershirt and looks at Magnus expectantly. Magnus, who wants everything too much right now, wants everything so badly he’s frozen with what to do first, doesn’t know if he should immediately get his mouth on Taako’s bare chest, if he needs to get rid of his own clothes first, if he should stop for half a second to try to even get a grip on what’s <em>happening</em>.</p><p>Taako snaps his fingers in front of Magnus’s face. “Hey.” Magnus finally meets his eyes and Taako smiles. “You okay, kid? Too fast? It’s okay if you need a break…”</p><p>An unfathomable notion. He doesn’t want to give Taako time to decide this is a bad idea. He stands up – the way Taako reaches after him in disappointment does not go unnoticed – and gets undressed quick as he can, too distracted to worry about how he looks. Once his clothes are in a pile on the floor he grabs Taako by the waistband and shucks his pants off him too, leaving Taako spread bare on Magnus’s bed and Magnus can’t <em>breathe</em>. Maybe he’s still dead this time and this is his idea of heaven. Except angels probably wouldn’t look up at him all smirking and lusty the way Taako is. He’s stunningly beautiful, and Magnus wants <em>all of him</em>.</p><p>He’s back on the bed before he can even think about it, his hands on Taako’s waist as he kisses him hungrily, pressing him down into the mattress. Taako’s belly is soft under his thumbs, dusted with freckles like his face is, with white baby-fine hair trailing down below his belly button. His chest is narrow, his arms wiry-thin, and Magnus has seen Taako without a shirt on before, sure, but exploring every bit of him is a different experience and Magnus isn’t sure how he lived without it. Taako jumps a little when Magnus runs his nails lightly over his ribs like he’s ticklish, and Taako gasps when Magnus gets his mouth on one of his nipples, feeling it harden under his tongue.</p><p>Taako’s hips fit perfectly in Magnus’s hands. Magnus doesn’t want to ask questions about <em>why now</em> or <em>since when has Taako wanted</em>….</p><p>Maybe it’s better not to second guess good things. And this – Taako whining and biting his lip as Magnus wraps his hand around Taako’s cock – this is good. Magnus ducks his head down to kiss Taako’s stomach softly as he jacks his cock, which makes Taako squirm and thrust his hips up with a little whimper. Magnus licks a stripe down his stomach and then there’s a hand in his hair again, Taako’s fingers running through it to sweep it out of Magnus’s face, like he wants to see him. There’s precum beading at the head of Taako’s dick and Magnus can’t help putting his tongue to it, just to <em>taste</em> him, and is rewarded by Taako’s stuttery, punched-out gasp. Magnus loves that sound so much he sucks on the tip of his cock, hard, just to try to make Taako make that noise again, which he does. He spends a few moments longer coaxing sounds out of Taako, sucking his dick like it’s giving him oxygen, then he pulls off and goes back to kiss Taako again, pushing his tongue into his mouth, sure Taako can taste himself all over it. Taako clings to Magnus for dear life.</p><p>They kiss like that, like they’ve been starving and this is keeping them alive, and when they pause for breath Taako’s lips are shiny and wet, and his eyes look like stars. Magnus brings up a hand to stroke hair out of Taako’s face where it’s come loose from his braid. He brushes his thumb over Taako’s lips and Taako immediately parts them, takes Magnus’s thumb into his perfect mouth and sucks like it’s his cock. Magnus sighs and lowers his head, resting his forehead against Taako’s and pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth even as Taako sucks his thumb.</p><p>Taako touches Magnus’s face, his fingers lingering around his left eye. He presses down gently and Magnus jumps a little, startled by the sudden ache, then remembers – oh yeah, the cycle just reset and he has a black eye.</p><p>“Why did you do this?” Taako asks, soft enough that it nearly disguises his bluntness. “I always wondered but I never asked. Why’d you want….”</p><p>Why did Magnus want a black eye when they headed out on their mission? Why did he want it so badly he willingly sought out a fight the night before they left home? He heaves another sigh, wishing there was a better answer, but – “I thought it’d look cool,” Magnus admits, fully expecting Taako to laugh, and Taako does, a charming peal of genuine surprise and maybe a little relief.</p><p>Taako kisses Magnus’s bruise. “There are worse reasons to be self-destructive, I guess,” he says. He strokes Magnus’s cheek and fondly adds, “Hero.”</p><p>Something about <em>that</em> does an <em>awful lot</em> for Magnus and he feels his already-hard cock twitch as Magnus crushes his mouth to Taako’s again, pushing him backwards, and Magnus’s hand on the back of Taako’s head saves it from knocking against the wall. “Easy,” Taako gasps into his mouth, working a hand down between them to grasp Magnus’s cock. Magnus fears he is hurtling towards a place where he will simply be unable to be gentle because he wants too much too badly – but also, this is Taako, who Magnus cares about much too deeply but who also definitely has the ability to curse Magnus with dark magics unknown if Magnus missteps.</p><p>So he will be careful.</p><p>Taako is stroking his cock so good part of Magnus wants to just close his eyes and lose himself in <em>that</em>, but it’s not enough if he’s not making Taako feel good too. Now that he knows what Taako sounds like when he’s being treated well it’s all he wants to hear. He licks into Taako’s mouth, letting himself moan as Taako’s lithe fingers stroke and squeeze, brushing against his balls before returning to his shaft. Magnus uses his thighs to push Taako’s legs apart. He runs one hand down Taako’s body, pausing to squeeze his cock gently, then reaches lower to press a finger against Taako’s hole.</p><p>“Oh god,” Taako sighs, and Magnus pauses, going still no matter how much his body wants to keep going.</p><p>“Okay?” Magnus asks.</p><p>“Shit. Yeah, my man, I’m good.” He blinks up at him lazily. “Want you inside me.”</p><p>“Fuck.” It’s a moment before Magnus realizes he’s said that out loud, which explains why Taako is laughing. He knows there’s lube somewhere in his drawer and he curses himself for not getting it out right away. Between himself and Taako they manage to find the little bottle without dislodging themselves too badly, and Magnus flicks it open, gets his fingers slick before pressing them against Taako again.</p><p>Taako’s legs are thrown open wide, his bright eyes watching him intently, mouth slightly open. Magnus bites at his lips, which makes Taako smile, and Magnus pushes his fingers inside him, and Taako gasps, his eyelids fluttering.</p><p>Magnus is careful, yes, but he’s not about to treat Taako like glass either, not when Taako’s body is clearly asking for more, which Magnus is desperate to give him anyway. He can take two fingers easy, and Magnus is curling those two deep inside him, making Taako moan, his back arching like a bow while Magnus nuzzles and kisses his shoulder, his neck, his collarbone.</p><p>“Magnus, Magnus,” Taako says softly, his nails scratching at his back, trying to find purchase. Magnus wraps his hand around Taako’s cock again just as he adds a third finger and Taako whimpers “<em>oh, god</em>.”</p><p>“Tell me if it’s too much,” Magnus says gently, though he’s definitely <em>not</em> exactly being gentle with his hands right now. He’s fucking him with his fingers now, deep and slow and probing, searching for the right angle to send Taako over the edge. </p><p>“N- no, s’good, Maggie, god.” Taako’s eyes close, mouth falling open, which tempts Magnus once again to kiss him. Taako hums a little, half a whimper, half satisfied sigh, as he kisses him back, his mouth soft and wet.</p><p>There’s something about Taako right now that feels different, something soft and gentle and vulnerable in the way Taako looks at Magnus. Like maybe that prickly exterior is gone, his walls coming down. He’s felt like this since Magnus found him outside his room, he thinks, but maybe it’s wishful thinking. Maybe this is just what Taako looks like when he’s getting <em>really well fucked</em>.</p><p>Which reminds Magnus, if he doesn’t get his dick inside Taako, like, immediately, he might actually die. He’s been patient, he thinks, he’s trying so hard to make sure this is good for Taako. He kisses Taako’s cheek, that freckle under his eye, and drags his teeth down Taako’s jaw, which elicits another whine.</p><p>“Please,” Magnus says, still fucking Taako with his fingers. “Please, Taako, can I - ?”</p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” Taako says insistently. “Fuck, yes, please, I said I wanted – come on.”</p><p><em>Okay</em>. Magnus pulls his fingers out, painstakingly slow, but replaces them with the head of his cock. Taako’s body goes taut like a tightrope, and Magnus can’t help moaning as he sinks into him. Taako bites his lip, furrowing his eyebrows and whining, and the way he clenches around Magnus makes him breathless, and threatens to make him come much faster than he wants to. He manages to get a grip on himself, but as he starts to thrust deeper, Taako puts a hand on his chest, biting harder on his own lower lip.</p><p>“Are you – “ Magnus starts gently, and Taako shakes his head irritably.</p><p>“I’m <em>good</em>,” Taako says sharply. “You’re just fucking big, that’s all, so like….fuckin’ give me a second.”</p><p>Little does Taako know Magnus would <em>like</em> to make this last as long as possible, so he’s not complaining. Magnus spreads his thighs, shoving Taako’s legs further open, and Taako locks them around his waist as Magnus slowly pushes deeper, until he’s fully inside him, their bodies pressed flush together. Magnus’s thighs tremble and he drops his forehead to press against Taako’s with a moan. Taako doesn’t say anything, just tips his chin up to catch Magnus’s mouth in a kiss, his hands stroking Magnus’s hair out of his face. Taako’s own hair is a mess, his braid almost completely undone with sweaty strands clinging to his forehead, a halo of tangled blonde curls on the pillow beneath him.</p><p>Magnus goes slow. Taako’s still clenched tight around him, but he doesn’t tell Magnus to stop or to be more careful, and the sounds he’s making tell Magnus he feels good. That he wants this. Magnus reaches down and takes Taako’s cock in his hand to stroke him in time with his thrusts, and Taako moans against his mouth.</p><p>“Yeah, like that,” Taako says, and his voice sounds different than Magnus has ever heard it, tremulous and so thick with arousal Magnus feels drunk with it. “Fuck me.”</p><p>Magnus hooks Taako’s leg around the crook of his elbow to keep him spread open, adjusts his angle a little, and does just that. Doesn’t hold back. Listens to Taako’s soft little gasps and moans with each thrust, feels the way he twists and writhes underneath him like he’s not sure the best way to get more of what he wants (which, clearly, is Magnus’s dick). Magnus keeps his hand wrapped firmly around Taako’s cock, which is slick with precum as Magnus jacks it. On a whim, Magnus moves his mouth away from Taako’s lips and latches onto the curve between his neck and shoulder, biting down gently and sucking, tasting the salt on Taako’s skin. Taako’s whole body jack-knifes up against him as Taako lets out a cry, and Magnus thrusts harder into him in response, trying to pin him back down.</p><p>“Magnus,” Taako gasps. He drags his nails down his back, hard enough he might break the skin, but Magnus can’t possibly make himself care, can’t do anything but appreciate the sting of sharp little fingernails digging into his skin. Magnus growls in response, running his tongue over that same spot on Taako’s neck. “Maggie, I’m gonna – “</p><p>Magnus twists his hand around Taako’s cock and drinks in the broken gasp Taako lets out. “Do it, then,” Magnus pants. “Come – come for me.”</p><p>Taako does, shuddering and moaning, and with Magnus’s free hand he turns Taako’s face to his, kissing him deeply and swallowing up the sounds he’s making. Taako’s barely come down when Magnus’s orgasm hits and he thrusts hard into him as he rides it out, still fucking Taako, who has gone ragdoll limp beneath him, petting Magnus’s hair and letting out soft moans as Magnus comes.</p><p>Magnus collapses on top of him, panting, and Taako lets him stay there for a moment before he starts squirming. “You’re heavy,” he complains, shoving at his chest, and Magnus is far too tired and blissed-out to argue, so he just rolls onto his back next to Taako, closing his eyes.</p><p>He doesn’t know what to say to Taako. It’s been so long since he had sex with anybody, since he’s done more than jerk off quick before falling asleep. Their lifestyle doesn’t really lend itself to casual sex these days.</p><p>He hears Taako murmur something and snap his fingers, and opens his eyes to find that most of the sticky wet mess that’s gotten all over both of them is gone. Taako gives him a sheepish little smile. “Magic is good for a lot of things. I don’t really like lying around covered in jizz, so.”</p><p>“Useful,” Magnus says faintly. “Thanks.”</p><p>“For the orgasm?” Taako raises an eyebrow at him and smirks.</p><p>Magnus feels his face getting hot. “I meant for the spell, but, uh, you know. That was good.”</p><p>Taako laughs. “It’s a cantrip. You’re welcome.” The smile on his face is easy and relaxed, a far cry from the way Taako looked when Magnus had found him in the hall. He squeezes Magnus’s shoulder fondly, then gets to his feet. “Chances anybody’s noticed we’re missing?”</p><p>“Uh.” Magnus has no idea. “Does it matter?”</p><p>Taako shakes his head, gathering his clothes up off the floor. “Not really. Just don’t need everybody in my business, you know?”</p><p>“Oh.” That makes sense.</p><p>Taako, having found all of his discarded clothing, gets dressed and tries to wrangle his hair into something presentable in the mirror on the inside of Magnus’s closet door. “This mirror’s shit, man,” Taako says, wiping it with his sleeve and wrinkling his nose.</p><p>“It’s a mirror,” Magnus says. He feels like he’s having an out of body experience, watching himself lying in bed watching Taako, who’s behaving so casually Magnus has to remind himself that yes, this really happened. “I didn’t know a mirror could be shit.”</p><p>Taako gives up on braiding and just ties his hair into a messy ponytail with a sigh. “I got lights on mine. And I keep it clean, for one thing.”</p><p>Magnus has never seen the inside of Taako’s room, though he’s sometimes wondered what it might look like. When they first boarded the Starblaster, the rooms were all identical, standard military issue sleeping quarters, but this many years in, Magnus is sure he’s not alone in transforming his room into something that reflects himself. Magnus’s bedroom’s transformation happened slowly and accidentally; Taako is so full of personality Magnus is sure the first thing he did was start decorating his room to look like Taako.</p><p>Taako jams his hat back onto his head. “Get dressed, big guy, I’m hungry.”</p><p>“You’re - ?” Magnus doesn’t know what his clothes have to do with Taako’s hunger.</p><p>“Yeah! Come on, come eat with me. If nobody’s cooking I will.”</p><p>Magnus gets up, dresses (self-consciously, because Taako’s watching), and follows Taako out to the kitchen of the Starblaster.</p><p>Lup is already in the kitchen, chopping onions for some kind of stew she’s working on, and crying. Barry is sitting at one end of the long kitchen table, reading a book, and looking like he’d rather be elsewhere.</p><p>Lup looks up when Taako and Magnus enter, and immediately drops the knife, runs to Taako, and throws her arms around him. “I was looking for you – I couldn’t find you and I thought you were mad – “</p><p>Taako hugs her back almost reflexively, arms tight around her. “What? Me, mad? Lup, you were mad!”</p><p>“I was – and then I wasn’t and I didn’t know where you were – “</p><p>“I’m sorry!” Taako sounds bewildered, but he’s holding Lup so close his voice is a little muffled. Feeling rather like he’s intruding on something private, Magnus edges around them and joins Barry at the table. Barry raises his eyebrows without looking up from his book as the twins continue their tearful apologies.</p><p>“Don’t be sorry! I’m sorry! It wasn’t your fault, and I understand why you did it, and I shouldn’t blame you! I was thinking of everybody else and how if I couldn’t save them I should die with them, and you – “</p><p>“If we have to see them die, I can’t watch you go too.” Taako’s face is fully smushed against Lup’s neck now. He does not look up at Magnus or Barry. It’s almost as if he’s forgotten they’re there.</p><p>“She has been crying,” Barry whispers, “for twenty minutes, and pretending it’s all because of the onions.”</p><p>“Well, <em>shit</em>,” Magnus says, resting his hand in his chin. “Maybe I should’ve told Taako to go find her sooner.” Whatever happens between Magnus and Taako – if anything further happens between them, because Magnus isn’t convinced this wasn’t a fluke – he can’t imagine anything coming between him and Lup. Magnus has to understand that there are many things about Taako he’ll never fully understand, and his relationship with Lup is one of them.</p><p>Lup lifts a hand to touch Taako’s face and Taako jerks back a little. “Do not touch my eyes with your onion hands! God, Lup, wash ‘em first, do you know nothing?”</p><p>Lup laughs and lets go, wiping at her own eyes with her sleeve. “Yeah, this is all onion tears.”</p><p>“Sure, sure, I know.” Taako shrugs.</p><p>“Finish cutting the onions for me to give my eyes a break?” Lup pouts at him, and Taako doesn’t argue a bit, just picks up the knife Lup abandoned and strikes up a conversation with her as she washes her hands.</p><p>Barry sticks a bookmark in his book and closes it. “Like there was never an issue.”</p><p>“Yeah. You know how they are,” Magnus says.</p><p>Barry nods. “You okay, Magnus? You and Taako disappeared for awhile.”</p><p>Magnus feels color flood his cheeks again. “Did we? I don’t… I mean, I guess. Why? Did people notice?” He can’t decide if he hopes the answer is yes or no.</p><p>“Besides Lup? Only me, I think, and only because she was so upset she couldn’t find him.”</p><p>“Damn.” He wonders if he should apologize to Lup. “Taako’s fine, I think. I’m fine. We went for a walk.”</p><p>Barry gives him an inscrutable look. “Did you?”</p><p>Magnus nods. “Yeah. After we did the initial canvass, Taako and I decided to go a little further out.”</p><p>“Huh. Interesting.” Barry raises his eyebrows, opening his book again. “Which direction did you go?”</p><p>Magnus motions with his hands, trying to remember where the ship is positioned. “I don’t know, to the left as you leave the ship and then we just kept going for awhile.”</p><p>“Interesting,” Barry said. “’Cause Lup and I went for a walk that same direction. Weird we didn’t see you.”</p><p>Magnus’s mouth feels dry. “That is weird. We must’ve missed you.”</p><p>Barry grins. “Must have. Too bad, I’m sure Lup would’ve felt better if we’d found you.”</p><p>“Probably,” Magnus agrees.</p><p>Barry laughs, and props his book up to start reading again. “Hope it was a nice walk.”</p><p> </p><p>Cycle number whatever. They’re on a plane with some sort of complicated aristocracy that Taako can’t quite figure out, with a king whose smile never seems to reach his eyes. Still, the members of the IPRE have been given rooms at an upscale boarding house for the year, but Taako knows better than to trust this level of hospitality from an aristocracy that has seemed downright hostile to their presence. Davenport and Merle opted to stay on the Starblaster, but Lup, Barry, and Lucretia wanted the boarding house, so Taako did too, and so did Magnus. They all go back and forth between here and the Starblaster pretty regularly, but Taako has to admit the luxury accommodations are a pleasant change. He suspects there are strings attached, but so far, so good.</p><p>The Light of Creation was recovered by the plane’s citizens before the IPRE could get to it, and now it resides in possession of the king Amadeus, who is loath to give it away and seems intent on putting the IPRE through a whole song and dance routine before he’ll even consider it. Luckily – or not so luckily, depending on your point of view – Amadeus has taken a liking to Taako, Lup, and Lucretia. He doesn’t have a spellcaster on his staff currently (he’s cagey about what happened to the last one) and their magical abilities have impressed him.</p><p>Everything is coming down to the wire; there isn’t much time left to actually recover the Light before the Hunger arrives, and Amadeus is still toying with them. The twins and Lucretia have an audience with him in the morning to restart negotiations, but tonight they have been invited to a gala at the palace. Taako does not want to go, but Lup and Lucretia are going, and so Taako has to.</p><p>Taako walks into Lup’s room at the boarding house and finds her applying her lipstick in the mirror. She flicks her eyes to his reflection. “You look nice.”</p><p>Rolling his eyes, Taako spins and does a little flourish give his hands. “Like a dancing monkey.” He’s wearing leather pants and a white shirt with billowing sleeves under a leather vest that could almost be described as a corset, but isn’t quite. He’s also wearing almost all the jewelry he owns, rings on every finger and three earrings on each ear. He kept his hair in its usual braid, though he braided gold thread through it to make it shine. Finally, he outlined his eyes in more black liner than he probably needs, but at least he likes it. All in all, it feels like overkill, but he’s spent enough time with the nobility in this city to know what they’re about.</p><p>Lup smiles. “It’s not gonna be that bad.”</p><p>“On the contrary, I think it’s gonna be <em>worse</em>.”</p><p>Lup furrows her brow and caps her lipstick. “Since when do you hate a party?”</p><p>“Oh, I like a party,” Taako retorts. “The problem is that this isn’t a party, it’s a test.”</p><p>Lup sighs, turning to face him, a hand on her hip. She looks nice, too, though if Taako didn’t know better he’d accuse her of trying to look like his twin. Her blouse is similar to Taako’s shirt, and she’s wearing a black leather skirt over fishnets and knee-high boots. “Is Magnus coming?” she asks.</p><p>Taako snorts. “The only thing that could make tonight even more of a mindfuck? No.” Magnus wasn’t invited, and Taako doesn’t think bringing Magnus along is a particularly good idea. The king has never particularly taken to Magnus, and Magnus’s abject hatred for the man has been clear from the beginning, and came to a head in their last meeting with him, where Magnus told the king in no uncertain terms what kind of violence he’d like to enact upon him. Taako and Lup had a hell of a time talking the king out of throwing Magnus in prison. So, no, Taako hasn’t even told Magnus what he and Lup are up to tonight. He supposes he should feel bad about it, but, whatever. It’s for the best Magnus doesn’t know.</p><p>It’s been a few years now since that day Taako ended up in tears at Magnus’s door, and while <em>that</em> part is kind of embarrassing to remember, Taako can’t say he <em>regrets</em> it. Things have been different between them since then, but in a good way. Taako thinks. Magnus is always this sweet, comforting presence and introducing sex into their relationship, well….is Taako being selfish? Maybe. He tries not to think too hard about it, and he tries not to let his emotions get the better of him. He sometimes feels like he’s walking a tightrope, but there are these unspoken boundaries he’s drawn for himself: don’t get too attached, don’t let Magnus know how hard he’s trying not to get attached, don’t let anyone else know how much he actually cares about Magnus.</p><p>Not that he’s ever fooled Lup for even a second. She quirks an eyebrow at him and rolls her eyes. “Okay. Whatever you say.”</p><p>“Magnus coming with us is a bad idea and you know that,” Taako says shortly.</p><p>“I feel like I haven’t <em>seen</em> him in a bit,” Lup whines. “I miss him.”</p><p>Taako misses him too, but is this his fault? “He’s the one who put himself on the king’s bad side.” By doing that, Magnus has effectively removed himself as a player in their attempt to peacefully retrieve the Light of Creation, so yeah, it’s been awhile since Taako and Magnus had any one-on-one time, and probably awhile since Lup spent any time with him either. But Magnus made his own bed, so he can lie in it.</p><p>“We should think about letting Magnus know about tomorrow, anyway,” Lup says as they make their way from the boarding house to the palace. “Just so he’s in the loop.”</p><p>Taako groans inwardly. “I’ll tell him, but you know he’ll wanna be there.”</p><p>“Would that be the worst thing?”</p><p>King Amadeus has proven himself volatile and unpredictable, and it stuns Taako that Lup isn’t more cautious. “It could be.”</p><p>The ballroom at the palace is full of people decked out in even finer clothing than Taako and Lup are wearing, but Taako doesn’t feel underdressed. Lucretia is already there when they arrive, dressed in blue, and Taako catches her eye from across the room. She gives him a small smile and a wave, then returns to her conversation with a tall elfin man with skin like midnight.</p><p>Taako immediately grabs a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and downs half of it. He already hates this party, but when you want something, sometimes you have to do unpleasant things to get it. He and Lup make the rounds, making small talk with any of the king’s court who want to talk to them, and it’s fine. Everyone here is fake, and stupid because having so much money without having worked for it makes people stupid, but Taako can tolerate it, and anyway, he can tell Lup doesn’t like any of these people any more than he does.</p><p>The first hour or so is boring, though not outright painful, a lot of talking with rich fools who simply think it’s <em>fascinating</em> to learn about the IPRE and even more <em>fascinating</em> to hear about how Taako and Lup ended up joining such an organization, but then the crowd gets a little quieter, a little more subdued, and King Amadeus enters the chamber, his guards behind him. He’s dressed in his finest, and he too obtains a glass of champagne, which he raises in a toast. The rest of the nobility lift their glasses and cheer along with him.</p><p>After the crowd’s attention moves away from their king and back to their individual conversations, the king approaches Taako and Lup, smiling broadly. “Lup! Taako! How pleasant to see two of my favorite wizards, and both looking so stunning, if I may say.”</p><p><em>In your dreams</em>. Taako looks at Lup, trying to roll his eyes without actually visibly rolling his eyes. Lup gets it. “The honor is ours,” Lup says lightly. “Thanks for the invitation.”</p><p>The king chuckles, and puts his arms around their shoulders, one twin on each side. He catches the eye of a waiter and calls, “Another drink for both of my friends!” Then, “Where is Lucretia? I had hoped she would join us.”</p><p>“Around somewhere,” Taako replies, using this as an excuse to neatly step away and scan the crowd for Lucretia. “She found somebody to chat with, last I saw.”</p><p>“I look forward to our meeting tomorrow morning,” King Amadeus continues. “With luck, I imagine we’ll be able to come to an arrangement that will be beneficial for everyone involved.”</p><p><em>Not if it involves one of us sticking around to be your resident spellcaster</em>. “Yeah, hope so,” Taako says.</p><p>“Hope won’t get you far, Taako,” the king says, smiling that smile that doesn’t touch his cold eyes. “Have a little more faith.”</p><p>Taako laughs. “Sorry, is that not what hope is?”</p><p>“I value faith and loyalty more than I value hope,” says the king, his voice steely.</p><p>So, great, he fancies himself a god. Taako hates it here. The king’s arm is still around Lup, and Taako can’t figure out a way to pull her away without it being clear what he’s doing. There’s nothing wrong with it, exactly, but it’s possessive in a way that makes Taako’s skin crawl, and everything about Lup’s stiff posture tells him she’s supremely uncomfortable. Maybe they should have brought Barry, if for no reason other than that Lup could have already had an arm around her when the king arrived.</p><p>If Magnus were here, he’d have already gotten them all thrown out.</p><p>A guard approaches the king, prompting him to finally remove his arm from Lup’s shoulders as he leans close to hear what the guard tells him. He frowns, his expression darkening. “I see,” he says softly. He turns to Taako and Lup. “I apologize, something has come up that requires my attention.” The king turns to go, then pauses and turns back. “Actually, would the two of you accompany me?”</p><p>Taako exchanges a look with Lup. With trepidation, he says, “All right,” and they follow the king to the hall outside the ballroom.</p><p>To Taako’s shock, Lucretia is there, a guard holding her by the arm, while another guard handcuffs the dark-skinned elf Taako saw Lucretia talking to earlier. The king stops in his tracks when he sees the elf. “Everett,” he says coldly.</p><p>The elf gives him a smile that’s more of a snarl. “Your majesty.”</p><p>“I thought it was clear you were no longer welcome in this court,” says King Amadeus. “To come here and hoodwink one of our esteemed visitors….” He snaps his fingers at the guard holding Lucretia. “Release her. She’s done nothing wrong.”</p><p>The guard lets go of Lucretia’s arm, murmuring an apology. Lucretia quickly steps away and hurries to Taako and Lup. Lup reaches out a hand and takes Lucretia’s as she approaches.</p><p>The king rounds on Everett. “Do you really think it wise to return to this palace after conspiring to have me killed?”</p><p>“You could prove nothing,” Everett says icily, struggling against the guard holding him.</p><p>“Which is the only reason you weren’t killed immediately,” Amadeus says smoothly. “Your return only signifies the possibility of a repeat attempt.” He sighs dramatically. “A fool I was to show mercy. Ah, well.”  Everett struggles again, trying to break free, but the king holds up a hand. “Enough of that. The question remains what to do with you now.” With a smile, the king turns to Taako, Lup, and Lucretia. “Taako. Your thoughts?”</p><p>“Uh.” Taako’s mind races furiously; this is exactly what he meant when he said tonight was a test. If Everett weren’t so obviously genuine in his disdain, he’d almost think this a setup. “I’m sorry?”</p><p>“Tell me, Taako,” continues the king, “if a man tried to kill you, how would you handle him?”</p><p>The honest-to-God answer is <em>run away</em>, but Taako isn’t a king and any attempt on his life isn’t an <em>assassination</em>. “People tried to kill me a lot of times,” Taako says, trying to sound flippant as he exchanges a look with Lup. “Honestly, though, that’s some toxicity you don’t need in your life. Cut him off, that’s what I say.”</p><p>King Amadeus smiles. “And Lup, you agree with your brother?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Lup says slowly. “I mean – not much to disagree with. Attempted murder ain’t fun.”</p><p>The king snaps his fingers, and the guard shoves Everett to his knees. “And you don’t think a repeat offender deserves, shall we say, a more <em>severe</em> punishment?”</p><p>Taako stiffens. The king is asking them to sentence a man to death.</p><p>It’s Lucretia who ultimately speaks. “I don’t believe we have the right visibility on the situation to make that kind of call, sir.”</p><p>The king hums a little in disappointment. “It seems straightforward enough to me. No matter.” He faces Everett. “You are charged with treason against the crown and with threatening the life of your king. You are guilty. You will be appropriately dealt with.” He snaps his fingers. “One of you – a spell. I want a curse on this man.”</p><p>Taako’s heart pounds in his chest. He looks to Lup and Lucretia, both of whom look as dismayed as he does. “Uh. What kind of curse?”</p><p>The king frowns. “I wouldn’t think this so difficult for you. This man deserves capital punishment. What can you offer me?”</p><p>“What are you <em>asking</em>?” Taako demands, louder and angrier than he meant to sound.</p><p>“I am asking,” the king snaps, “for the three of you to prove your loyalty! Now, one of you, dispatch this man at once!”</p><p>Taako lets out a hopeless laugh. “Your Highness, <em>instant death</em> isn’t exactly a spell I’ve got in my playbook!”</p><p>“Then either of the other two,” the king says irritably, and Taako finds himself involuntarily shrinking back as if slapped. “Lup. Lucretia. Please do what your companion is too weak to accomplish.”</p><p>“Burning him alive in the middle of this corridor isn’t ideal,” Lup says, and Taako can tell she’s trying to keep her voice steady. “That’s about the best I could do, but Your Highness – I can’t imagine a solution that would disrupt your party any more than that – it wouldn’t be quick it would be noisy and smelly and loud – “ Lup is babbling, her eyes wide. “You know, me and Taako’s magic, it’s really a party trick, bit of defensive magic when we need it, but it’s not really – we don’t deal out punishment – “</p><p>“Please, allow me,” Lucretia finally cuts in. She lets go of Lup’s hand and steps forward, her eyes on Everett. She holds herself with composure; it’s only because Taako knows her so well that he can tell she’s nervous. It’s her slightly widened eyes and the tightness at the corners of her mouth. Lucretia looks at Everett and raises her hands. Another instant, and Everett vanishes. Disappears as if he were never there.</p><p>Taako relaxes a little. He recognizes a teleportation spell when he sees one, and he thanks whatever gods exist here for Lucretia’s quick thinking while simultaneously praying that the king doesn’t sense anything amiss.</p><p>The king and his guards, almost comically, look up and down the hallway as if expecting to see Everett hiding around the corner. “What have you done?” the king demands.</p><p>Lucretia lowers her hands. “Banished him from this plane of existence,” she says. It’s a lie, of course; most likely Everett will find himself some distance outside the city and hopefully have the good sense to make a run for it while he can. “He shouldn’t be a further problem for you.”</p><p>The king doesn’t look entirely pleased. No doubt this wasn’t the violent and bloody solution he had wanted. “I see,” he says, barely masking his disappointment. “If that’s the best you can do. You understand I wanted him dead.”</p><p>Lucretia shrugs, and Taako marvels at how well she lies with her body language. “I don’t know how long someone can survive the place I sent him. I’m sorry we couldn’t offer anything more exciting.”</p><p>The king snorts. “Very well. Thank you, then, for your loyalty.” As if finished with them, he whirls back to the door of the ballroom and stalks through it. Over his shoulder, he adds, “I look forward to our meeting tomorrow morning.”</p><p>Once he’s out of earshot Taako turns to Lup and Lucretia. “Are you happy? Are you glad we did this?” He glares at both of them. “I’m going back to the boarding house, and you should both come with me.” He doesn’t want anyone staying here longer than they need to.</p><p>Neither of them argue, and all three of them hurry out of the palace as quickly as they can without looking like they’re running away. Once they’re outside in the peaceful night air, Lucretia pauses. “I’m going to the Starblaster,” she says. “I’d like to talk with the captain before tomorrow.” She bids them good night, and Lup and Taako watch her walk off the opposite direction before heading back themselves.</p><p>“Are you okay?” Taako asks Lup as they enter the boarding house. “I’m sorry I snapped.”</p><p>“It’s okay, you were scared,” Lup says. “I’m okay, though. You?”</p><p>“<em>Peachy</em>,” Taako says with some disgust. “You know, this whole thing is starting to look like a losing battle.” He hesitates. “Would it be the worst thing if….?”</p><p>“We couldn’t get the Light?” Lup finishes, and then she pauses too. “We’ve missed it before. The difference is I believe we <em>can</em> get it this time, so we have to try.”</p><p>Taako knows she’s right. “Magnus is not coming with us tomorrow, though,” he tells her flatly, and Lup nods.</p><p>“No. You’re right about that.”</p><p>They reach Lup’s door, with Taako’s next to it, but Taako turns to head down the hall for Magnus’s room.</p><p>“Hey, where you going, dummy?”</p><p>Taako turns back to her and raises his eyebrows. “Gonna talk to Magnus, what do you think?”</p><p>“Oh, gonna talk to him, huh?” Lup says, smirking a little, and Taako slugs her on the arm.</p><p>“It’s been a bad night,” Taako whines. “Give me a break.”</p><p>“Yeah? Gonna tell him about it?”</p><p>“<em>Doubt</em> it,” Taako says, rolling his eyes.</p><p>Lup leans against her door, hand on her hip. “Why the hell not?”</p><p>Why not, indeed. Taako shrugs. “I don’t know, I just….seems like a little much.”</p><p>“For him or for you?”</p><p>Taako shakes his head. “I don’t know. Kinda just don’t wanna think about it anymore.” Kind of doesn’t want to think, in general. Besides, Magnus would worry, and Taako hates when Magnus worries.</p><p>Lup regards him for a moment, then leans in for a hug, which Taako gratefully accepts. “You sure you’re all right?” she asks in his ear.</p><p>“If you’re sure you are,” Taako answers.</p><p>Lup lets go of him and slouches back against the door. “I will be. Hope I sleep like a rock.”</p><p>Taako nods. “Yeah, me too.”</p><p>Lup chews on the inside of her cheek for a moment, then nudges Taako’s foot with her own. “Go on then. Go get banged so hard you can’t think, or whatever it is you’re doing.”</p><p>Taako tries to slug her again, but Lup dodges with a little laugh. “I’m not gonna – “ Taako says.</p><p>“Yeah? Okay, tell me how that goes when you’re doing your walk of shame in the morning.”</p><p>“I hate you,” Taako says sincerely, and Lup laughs. She wiggles her fingers in a little wave as she unlocks her door.</p><p>“Give Maggie my best,” Lup says lightly, and disappears into her room.</p><p>Magnus’s room is at the opposite end of the hallway, and Taako turns and walks straight there, feeling a little numb. Magnus can usually make him feel <em>something</em>, even if Taako is trying not to use him for emotional support. Doing that would feel unfair.</p><p>When Taako reaches Magnus’s door, it occurs to him that Magnus might already be asleep. He knocks anyway, and a moment later Magnus’s voice says, “Who’s there?”</p><p>Taako rolls his eyes. “Me, idiot.” Who else would it be? A moment later, Magnus opens the door, and Taako nimbly steps inside and closes the door behind him.</p><p>Taako already feels a little better just being here. It’s good to see Magnus, and Taako realizes once again how long it’s been since they spent much time together. Magnus is dressed in baggy sleep pants and a t-shirt, and he smiles at Taako, warm and almost a little nervous as he looks him up and down – and Taako only now remembers just how dressed up he is. “God, Taako, you look…” Magnus trails off, almost in wonderment.</p><p>Taako snorts and pushes past Magnus into the room. “Like a pirate or something.” The gold jewelry and eyeliner really complete the look, he thinks.</p><p>Magnus turns, watching him. “Like a prince.”</p><p>Taako laughs, trying not to feel overly flattered as he goes to work removing some of his earrings. “That’s better than I thought, then.” He still feels a little silly being this dressed up after the way the night went, but if Magnus likes it, that’s a plus.</p><p>“Where’ve you been?” Magnus asks. “I saw you and Lup leave earlier.”</p><p>Taako waves a dismissive hand and collapses into the armchair in the corner of the room as he tries to decide how much to divulge. He settles on, “Schmoozin’.” Magnus looks at him questioningly, so Taako hesitates, then elaborates, “Lup and Lucretia and I have an audience with King Amadeus in the morning, and he invited us to this party he had tonight. Felt like a bad idea to decline.” Felt like a bad idea to go, too; isn’t it great being between a rock and a hard place? Taako shifts a little in the armchair, draping a leg casually over the arm.</p><p>Magnus frowns. “I wasn’t invited?”</p><p>Taako laughs. “Definitely not. Besides, not really your scene, is it?”  </p><p>“I didn’t know it was yours,” Magnus protests, walking closer to Taako. “You want me to go with you in the morning?”</p><p>Taako shakes his head vigorously. He knew this is how Magnus would react. “Baby, the king doesn’t like you,” he says gently. “It’s crunch time, y’know? We got, what, a month and a half at this point?”</p><p>Magnus nods, looking a little unhappy. He gestures toward Taako. “So you got all dressed up in the name of saving the planet?”</p><p>Taako grins, feeling a little pleased in spite of himself. “You jealous, big guy?”</p><p>“No,” Magnus says, and Taako can tell it’s a lie. The kid has no poker face.  </p><p>Taako heaves a sigh, looking away from him. “Look, if you want something, sometimes you gotta look the part, right? I don’t love it, but hey, what can you do.” Understatement of the year but there’s truth to it.</p><p>“How’d it go, anyway? Making friends out there?” Magnus is trying to sound casual, but he’s probing gently, looking for information.</p><p>Taako tries not to feel endeared. “Now, see, Mags, I <em>do</em> think you’re jealous,” he says with a grin. “But no, not really. I hate this planet. Lot of fake people and a lot of etiquette I don’t understand, but I don’t really give a shit. Anyway, I figured, hell, if I’m gonna look this good, might as well, uh…” He trails off, nearly losing his train of thought. What <em>is</em> he doing here? Absently, he reaches for Magnus’s hand and takes it in his. “I mean, you do tend to appreciate it more than others.” Nobody else looks at Taako like Magnus does, with that same kind of awe. That kind of revelation makes Taako uncomfortable sometimes, especially as he tries – tries – to hold Magnus at arm’s length, but….sometimes it feels good to be adored.</p><p>Right now, though, Magnus is not particularly responsive. “Well, don’t trip over yourself to validate me,” Taako says dryly. He lets go of Magnus’s hand with an exasperated huff.</p><p>Magnus laughs. “Sometimes I can’t believe you actually care what I think.”</p><p>Taako frowns. “Who said I did, huh?” He swings his legs off the chair and stands, drawing himself up to his full height, a few inches taller than normal thanks to the heeled boots he’s wearing. Defiance aside, Taako tilts his face up hopefully, and Magnus kisses him softly. Taako sighs, contented, eyes still closed when Magnus pulls away. “Feel like I haven’t seen much of you lately.” He says it without thinking, but it’s still true. He realizes he hasn’t let himself miss Magnus, but being here with him now only makes it that much more apparent that he does.</p><p>Has Magnus been avoiding him? Or – Taako wonders with a stab of guilt – does Magnus just wait for Taako to make the first move every time, like Taako won’t want him otherwise. If that’s the case, Taako supposes it’s no one’s fault but his own.</p><p>Magnus shrugs. His hands go to Taako’s waist and he pulls him close. “I’ve been around.”</p><p>Taako smiles and puts his arms around Magnus’s neck, almost like they’re dancing. “You’re reliable like that.” Reliable – that’s a good word for him. Magnus can be a wild card, yeah, but he’s also solid and comforting and yeah, Taako likes knowing he’s here.</p><p>Magnus runs his hands up and down Taako’s sides, seeming sweetly bewildered by the laces on his vest and how one might go about undoing them. He leans down to kiss Taako again and Taako kisses back. Sweet. Taako takes pity on Magnus’s wandering hands and unlaces his vest for him, gets it undone and drops it to the floor. Magnus hums deep in his throat and slides his hands under Taako’s loose shirt, making Taako shiver.</p><p>Taako is determined to think of nothing but this for as long as he can make it last. His clenches his fists in the fabric of Magnus’s shirt and kisses him hard enough that nothing else matters. He does not think about Lup’s panicked babbling or Lucretia’s worried eyes. He squeezes his eyes tighter closed and leans up into Magnus, parting his lips eagerly.</p><p>Magnus squeezes his waist gently. “Hey, are you okay?”</p><p>“I am,” Taako says, guarded.</p><p>“Did something….” Magnus hesitates, and Taako rolls his eyes.</p><p>“Maggie, I don’t really want to talk about it,” he says, unable to keep a slight plea out of his voice. Evidently, though, Magnus hears it, and does not press the issue, simply nodding instead.</p><p>“Okay,” Magnus says, and goes back to kissing him. Together they get undressed, Magnus steering Taako towards the bed. Taako sits on the edge of the bed and hurriedly gets Magnus’s pants down, lets Magnus fuck his mouth slow and shallow, and does his best not to think about the cold gleam in King Amadeus’s eyes. Magnus is gentler than he needs to be, but isn’t that just who he is?</p><p>Taako straddles Magnus’s waist and rides him until they both come, until his hair clings to his forehead with sweat and the only thing he can see or hear is Magnus’s face and voice. Fucking hell, it’s been a rotten night, but this makes it better, so much better Taako can barely admit it.</p><p>He curls up, sweaty and boneless, against Magnus’s chest. “Can I stay here?” Taako murmurs into his skin, and Magnus wraps his arms around him.</p><p>“’Course,” Magnus replies, and then, “Taako, you sure you’re all right?”</p><p>Taako buries his face against him. “Yeah,” he says, voice muffled. “I’m good.”</p><p> </p><p>Magnus wakes to find Taako dressed in the leather pants he’d worn last night and one of Magnus’s t-shirts, trying to gather all the jewelry he’d discarded onto Magnus’s dresser. Taako glances over at him when he hears him stir. “Hey.” His tone is light, though his furrowed brow betrays some sort of anxiety Magnus has suspected he’s been carrying since last night.</p><p>“Hi,” Magnus says, sitting up. He smiles, watching Taako move around the room. “Shirt’s a little big on you.”</p><p>“Yeah, sorry,” Taako says carelessly. “I’ll give it back later, I just gotta get back to my room and change before I go meet Lup and Lucretia.”</p><p>“No, that’s okay.” Taako can keep the shirt for all Magnus cares. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you guys today?”</p><p>Taako snorts. “Yeah, Mags, very sure.”</p><p>“Why?” Magnus asks, bewildered. “What am I here for if not for this?”</p><p>“Don’t be stupid,” Taako snaps. With a huff, he sits down on the edge of the bed next to Magnus, delicately flicking his hair out of his face. Up close, Magnus can see that the makeup around Taako’s eyes is smudged badly from not removing it the night before, making the dark circles under his eyes look darker. “His Highness King Amadeus doesn’t like you, you know that.” His voice drips with disdain.</p><p>“So what?” Magnus can handle being disliked. This king isn’t the first or the last person to take issue with Magnus, so what does he care?</p><p>“You’re gonna get yourself in trouble,” Taako says, in a bit of a singsong. “Look, babe, last time you went with us to talk to the king you told him to his face you hate the way he rules and that if you could you’d take him to task over it and I swear to god he was about to have you drawn and quartered.”</p><p>“Well, I do hate the way he rules,” Magnus growls. He thinks of the cold look in the king’s eyes, that horrible smile that never touches them. He thinks of how within the walls of the kingdom’s major city, everyone lives in the lap of luxury, and how outside the walls there are people struggling to feed their families. Taako is right that the king is well aware of Magnus’s distaste, and it’s also true enough that the last time he and the king came face-to-face Magnus had nearly been thrown in prison. It had taken some silver-tongued action from the twins to get him out of that particular dilemma.</p><p>Taako huffs again. “You can’t think I’m okay with it, but insulting the only person who can give us access to the light of creation is maybe not your best move.”</p><p>Magnus folds his arms across his chest. “I won’t suck up to him. Sorry.”</p><p>“Right,” Taako says shortly. “That’s what I’m doing, sucking up.”</p><p>Magnus shakes his head, frustrated. “That’s not what I meant, don’t take it that way. Taako, please let me come with you?”</p><p>Taako laughs. “Not after you just admitted you can’t play nice.” He gets to his feet and drops a kiss on Magnus’s forehead. “Stay out of this one, kid. Let me take care of it, ‘kay? The king actually likes me and Lup and Lucretia, for whatever reason, but I won’t question it.”</p><p>That on its own is a whole other problem, and Magnus tells Taako as much. “I don’t want you guys to get played.”</p><p>“Yeah, bud, I’m gonna go ahead and assume that me and Lup can sus that shit out better than you can anyway.”</p><p>Magnus grabs Taako by the hand as Taako starts to move away. “I just – Taako, I hate how he looks at you.” He says it without thinking, before he can stop himself, and it’s probably too much, but it’s true. He squeezes Taako’s hand gently. “I don’t know. Like he wants you for himself.”</p><p>Taako pulls his hand away. “Don’t fuckin’ worry about that. I’m used to people lookin’ at us - me and Lup - like we’re lunch. That’s one of the main reasons we learned magic in the first place, okay? So don’t pull that on me, like I don’t know. I’m not stupid.” Taako frowns. “And this better not be a jealousy thing either.”</p><p>“It’s not.” He thinks Taako’s insulted but doesn’t know how to fix it. “I’m just looking out for you, man.” It would be foolish to be jealous. Magnus has no claim to Taako or any say over what he does. Taako’s the same as any of Magnus’s crewmates. Never mind the fact that they’ve been fucking off and on for a good few years now at this point. Magnus would like to think they’ve moved to a deeper, more intimate connection, but….it’s Taako, and Taako hates that kind of thing. Maybe it’s all wishful thinking on Magnus’s part. He tries to be content with what he gets – which is pretty much only what Taako decides he should have. He doesn’t know how to ask for more, how to say it without scaring Taako away.</p><p>“Didn’t ask you to,” Taako says shortly. “Maybe I don’t look like it, but I <em>can</em> take care of myself, you know. I’ll see you later when I bring your shirt back.” With that, Taako whirls away and stalks out of the room.</p><p>Magnus lets out a groan when the door closes behind Taako and collapses back onto his mattress, closing his eyes. He doesn’t know how he managed to put his foot in his mouth this time, but he did.</p><p>Still, he’s going to go lurk outside the throne room whether Taako likes it or not. Taako’s not the only one walking into that room, and Magnus <em>does</em> care about him, and about Lup and Lucretia too. Magnus waits until he’s sure Taako has left the boarding house for his meeting with the king, and then he slips off after him.</p><p>Magnus has been to the palace many times over the course of the year. It’s a cold, imposing stone building, but Magnus doesn’t have any trouble getting in. He probably isn’t a particularly inconspicuous figure – he opted not to wear his armor for this specific reason, but he does have his axe, just in case he or his friends are in a position where they need it. Still, no one stops him as he makes his way through the palace to the antechamber outside the throne room. The door to the throne room is closed, and the walls are solid enough that Magnus won’t be able to hear anything going on beyond the door unless somebody starts screaming, which is what he’s listening for anyway.</p><p>So he sits down on a stone bench and waits. Taako’s not going to be thrilled when he walks out to find Magnus here, but Magnus doesn’t care. It’s better than the worse possible outcomes.</p><p>He hasn’t been here long before a pair of guards approach him. “Magnus Burnsides?” grunts the first guard.</p><p>Magnus looks up. “Yeah?”</p><p>“We thought we made it clear after your last altercation with His Highness that you were not welcome inside these walls,” the second guard continues.</p><p>Magnus points at the door to the throne room. “My colleagues are in there with the king. I’m not. Don’t know what else you want from me.”</p><p>The first guard nudges his leg with his spear. “On your feet.”</p><p>“God, okay.” Magnus gets up and turns to go, but finds himself blocked by both guards’ spears. He sighs, closes his eyes, and considers grabbing his axe.</p><p>“You want to see the king so badly, we’re taking you to see the king,” says the first guard dangerously, and now Magnus has no good options. He can’t get out of this without killing both guards, which he doesn’t really want to do, and if he runs he’ll practically be a fugitive. If he goes with the guards he faces wrath from their king and from Taako, neither of which he relishes.</p><p>While he’s mulling this over, the guards point their spears at his throat, forcing him toward the door of the throne room. “Hand over your axe,” one of them says, so, with trepidation, Magnus does. The guard takes the axe and he and his companion push Magnus through the door.</p><p>Taako, Lup, and Lucretia, dressed in their formal IPRE uniforms, whirl around when the door slams, and Taako visibly rolls his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air. The king, dark-haired and steely-eyed, sits on his throne, and Magnus sees him frown. “Magnus,” the king says, “I don’t recall hearing that you’d be joining us this morning.” With that, he turns his gaze back to the other three.</p><p>“It’s news to us, too, sir,” Lucretia says to the king. “On behalf of my colleagues, I’d like to apologize – “</p><p>King Amadeus holds up a hand to stop her, and Lucretia falls silent immediately. The guards steer Magnus to the front of the room until he’s level with the other three, and they push him to the ground. Magnus grunts when his knees hit the stone floor. The first guard says, “We found him in the antechamber, Your Highness. As you can see, he was armed.” He drops Magnus’s axe, and Magnus has to stop himself from immediately picking it up.</p><p>The king clicks his tongue. “It’s not a good look for you, Magnus, nor for your organization.”  With a smirk, he continues, “Tell me, Lucretia, why should I give you what you want when you and your colleagues cannot adhere to the simplest of boundaries?”</p><p>“C’mon, don’t blame her,” Magnus says tiredly. “I was just – “</p><p>“Magnus Burnsides,” booms the king. “You were lurking outside my throne room with your weapon in hand. I see no reason why I shouldn’t have you executed immediately.”</p><p><em>Executed</em>? Is he serious? Magnus looks up at him defiantly. “All due respect,” he says coldly, “if I wanted to kill you this isn’t exactly the way I’d do it. Broad daylight in front of all your guards, you know. There are better ways.”</p><p>“Magnus,” Taako whispers, exasperated, so softly Magnus can barely hear him; he glances over at Taako and sees him covering his eyes.</p><p>The king gets to his feet and walks down from his dais, drawing a small knife he keeps tucked under his cloak. He stops in front of Magnus so Magnus has to tilt his head up to meet his eyes. “I assure you,” the king says, “if I wanted to kill you or any of your friends I would have done so long ago. I don’t like to treat visitors improperly. But those who undermine my authority in my own kingdom, who arrive, unbidden and armed, to my palace….” The king smiles. “You understand, of course, why I cannot allow this to go unchecked. I’d hate anyone to follow your example.”</p><p>“I didn’t come here to kill you!” Magnus says, frustrated.</p><p>“Then I require an explanation. Now,” the king says icily, “before I have my guards take you to the dungeons.” He whirls on the other three, Lucretia flanked by the twins. “I sincerely hope you’re all telling the truth as well, and that you weren’t involved in your friend’s little scheme.” To his guards, he says, “One of you gather a team and search the rest of the grounds. Make sure no others are waiting.”</p><p>“They aren’t,” Magnus growls. “It’s just me, making sure you’re not going to hurt my friends.”</p><p>The king smiles. “Young man, the only person who has ever threatened violence in this chamber is you.” He turns away. “Guards, take him to the cells. We can hold an execution later. Lup, I’ve changed my mind. I think I’d like to see your magic put to good use.”</p><p>Magnus can see Lup tense. “Excuse me?” she asks.</p><p>“You know well how little I like traitors in my court,” he says coldly. “And right now I seem to have four of them. Lucretia, your little trick might have worked last night, but not today. If you’re truly a friend of the crown, you’ll prove it this evening when we put your colleague to death.”</p><p>Magnus feels…..bewildered, mostly. Death doesn’t really frighten him these days, but death by magic – especially Lup’s magic, if it comes to that – sounds excessively painful, and he’d prefer not to deal with that. He cranes his neck, trying to catch the eye of any of his friends, but they aren’t looking at him.</p><p>“It’s not going to go over well if it gets back to my employers that I lit a member of my own team on fire,” Lup says, and Magnus almost expects her to laugh, but she doesn’t.</p><p>“And this is my problem because….?” The king sounds bored.</p><p>“For fuck’s sake,” Taako bursts out. “Don’t make her do that, all right? He’s here ‘cause of me, but it’s not what you think.”</p><p>The king turns and looks at Taako, raising an eyebrow. Lup and Lucretia look equally surprised. “Continue,” says the king.</p><p>Taako glances sidelong at Magnus and sighs. “It’s stupid, but look, none of us <em>asked</em> him to come here, and hand to God, it’s not any threat against you. It’s just – the kid follows me around like a puppy. What can I do when he doesn’t listen? Is it my fault? Is it anyone’s? Sure, it’s <em>annoying</em> as hell, but are you gonna have the guy killed for having a crush?” Taako smiles. “What kind of message does that send?”</p><p>Magnus stares at the floor, picking out the darker flecks in the gray stone, and wills himself not to take Taako at his word. Taako is, and always has been, a pretty damn good liar. However, he wishes he weren’t here to listen to this.</p><p>The king frowns and steps closer to Taako. Lup now has her head lowered, hiding her eyes. “So what are you saying?” the king asks Taako.</p><p>“I’m saying he’s an idiot, sure, but he’s no threat to <em>you</em>,” Taako says. “Just a nuisance to <em>me</em>. He’s a dumb kid, okay? Cut him a little slack.”</p><p>The king laughs and puts an arm around Taako’s shoulders in an amiable way, and doesn’t seem to notice the way Taako stiffens (which, in spite of himself, makes Magnus prickle with anger). “Lup, Lucretia – can you corroborate this?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t know, sir,” Lucretia says diplomatically, and Magnus feels a rush of affection for her. “The personal lives of my colleagues aren’t really my business.”</p><p>The king turns to Lup, awaiting her answer, his arm still around her brother. She folds her arms across her chest, glancing over at Taako and at Magnus. She and Taako exchange a look, and Lup sighs and says, “Yeah. Yeah, fine, I’ll corroborate. Taako’s telling the truth, Magnus is just….here for him, not for you.”</p><p>“This is super embarrassing, by the way,” Taako adds, shrugging the king’s arm off his shoulders and taking a step back. He now glances at Magnus with an expression he can’t really read before returning his gaze to the king. “I mean….can’t blame him, I guess.” Taako laughs. “I mean, I’ll apologize on his behalf if that’s what you need. He really shouldn’t bring petty interpersonal drama to an audience with such an esteemed ruler, but forgive him. He’s young.”</p><p>Taako’s gray eyes are cold. Magnus tries not to feel like he’s being stabbed.</p><p>The king laughs again. “Guards, please escort Magnus Burnsides out of the palace.”</p><p>The guards haul Magnus to his feet. Magnus can still feel Taako’s eyes on him, but he does not look back at him.</p><p>“Magnus,” the king says as the guards begin to lead him away. “If you do return to the palace, my guards will have orders to kill you on sight. No more chances.”</p><p>“Understood,” Magnus growls, and allows the guards to remove him from the room.</p><p> </p><p>Magnus goes looking for Taako that afternoon and finds him in his room at the boarding house with Lup. Magnus can hear their chatter as he heads down the hall, soft at first, then louder as he draws nearer. The door is propped open a few inches, and Magnus pauses there when he reaches the room. Lup is sitting barefoot on the floor, flipping hurriedly through a notebook, while Taako perches on the bed behind her, digging through a bag Magnus recognizes as Lup’s.</p><p>Taako withdraws a tiny black bottle – nail polish? - from the bag and knocks his fist against Lup’s shoulder. When she looks up, he says, “Can I have this?”</p><p>Lup makes a face. “No, it’s mine. Why would I let you have it?”</p><p>“Because you never use it! You always say black ain’t your color!”</p><p>“But I might want it someday!” Lup insists. “Chill out for twenty minutes and I’ll do your nails, though.”</p><p>“I can do ‘em myself!”</p><p>Lup throws him an amused glance. “You’re useless with your right hand. I’ve seen it.”</p><p>Taako lets out a gusty sigh and drops the bottle onto the bed next to him as he slouches back, and then his eyes alight on Magnus. “Oh, hey.” He doesn’t look particularly pleased to see Magnus, but he’s not annoyed about it either. He’s indifferent, which makes Magnus’s bad mood worse.</p><p>“We need to talk,” Magnus says bluntly.</p><p>Taako and Lup exchange glances, Lup’s knowing and Taako’s full of trepidation, then Taako looks back at Magnus. “About what?” he asks, raising an eyebrow and curling his upper lip a little.</p><p>“About <em>what</em>?” Magnus demands, surprised by how worked up he is. Emotion thrums through him and he’s not sure if he’s furious or sad or what, or if it’s even Taako he should be directing this at, but Taako’s as good a target as any. “About – about last night, and then this morning, and – everything, about you and me, about what the fuck – “</p><p>“Hey,” Taako says, getting to his feet and holding up a hand. “Calm down, baby, wouldja, I don’t – “</p><p>Magnus groans, covering his face. “Don’t call me that.”</p><p>Lup sighs. “Hey, Magnus, he didn’t mean anything by it.”</p><p>“Let him speak for himself,” Magnus says sharply.</p><p>“I would if he didn’t say dumb shit every time he opens his mouth.” Lup laughs, a little nervously, a clear attempt to lighten the mood.</p><p>Magnus burns. It’s not fair that there are two of them and one of him. “Don’t care. Doesn’t concern you, Lup. Taako, don’t call me <em>baby</em>, okay?”</p><p>“Jesus. Fine, I won’t! You wanna think about not just running in and yelling at people?”</p><p>Magnus spreads his arms. “Who’s yelling? I’m not yelling, are you yelling?”</p><p>“You’re getting pretty close to it!” Taako shoots back, and Lup reaches up to touch Taako on the arm, but he brushes her hand aside.</p><p>“Magnus, you wanna maybe do this somewhere else? Or maybe later?” Lup asks gently.</p><p>Magnus turns his glare on her. “No, we can do this now. Get the fuck out, Lup,” Magnus snaps, and immediately regrets it, but that doesn’t stop Taako from squawking “<em>excuse me</em>?”</p><p>“What did you say to her?” Taako says, his voice rising in pitch. “Are you fucking serious?”</p><p>“Taako, it’s fine, he’s upset,” Lup says, which is patronizing, and Magnus hates that she’s speaking like he’s not right there, but he can’t say anything about it <em>now</em>. She gets to her feet with the same lithe grace Magnus is used to from Taako and scoops up her notebook. “Find me later and I’ll still do your nails, T.”</p><p>She pauses next to Magnus on her way out and lays a hand on his arm. “You okay, honey?” she asks, soft enough that Taako can’t hear.</p><p>“Yeah,” Magnus mutters. “Sorry.”</p><p>Lup shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry about this morning,” she says, and then she disappears out of the room, shutting the door behind her and leaving Magnus alone with an absolutely seething Taako.</p><p>“You don’t talk to her that way,” he growls. “You wanna get mad at me for whatever the fuck, fine. You don’t take it out on Lup.”</p><p>Magnus crosses his arms. He knows he fucked up, now, because Taako has the high ground to start the conversation, but Taako doesn’t need to know that. “I just told her I’m sorry. She’s fine.”</p><p>“Do I care?” Taako demands. “If somebody talked to me the way you talked to her just now Lup’d kill ‘em and you know it.”</p><p>“You’re right,” Magnus says. “It’s not her I’m mad at, it’s you.”</p><p>“No shit. What the hell for?”</p><p>How does he not know? “What the hell was that this morning?” Magnus says.</p><p>Taako gesticulates wildly, flinging his arms open. “Which part? The part where you did exactly what I told you not to do and got the exact result I told you you’d get? How ‘bout you explain <em>that</em> to me?”</p><p>“I’m not gonna apologize for looking out for you,” Magnus snaps. “<em>All</em> of you, by the way, not just you and your ego! In case you forgot, protecting you guys is literally my job!”</p><p>Taako scoffs. “Great job with that, then! You almost got all four of us killed and lost our shot at getting the Light of Creation! You’re alive ‘cause of me, so try a little gratitude instead of whatever the hell this is.”</p><p><em>No fucking way</em>. “Hell of a way to save a life. Pretty sure you were just trying to embarrass me.”</p><p>“Right, like that wasn’t the single most humiliating experience of my life,” Taako says. “Next time give me a little more time to prepare, ‘kay? I can’t keep anything from Lup but thank fuck Lucretia’s no gossip or this’d get back to Merle and the captain for sure and I’d never live it down.”</p><p>“You were upset last night! Taako, I was worried!”</p><p>“I knew you would be,” Taako snaps. “Why the fuck do you think I didn’t tell you the king wants to use me and Lup as his little attack dogs?” He rubs his eyes. “I was trying to keep you from doing exactly what you fucking did today, and don’t pretend you wouldn’t have done it if I’d told you what happened at the gala.”</p><p>Magnus still doesn’t quite grasp what did happen at the gala, but it doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter because Taako’s probably right, he still would have followed them all to the palace today, and yet at the same time - “You didn’t have to <em>say</em> what you did,” Magnus snaps. “If it’s so fucking humiliating – “</p><p>“Oh, give it a rest, Magnus!” Taako brushes his hair out of his face and ties it back into a bun. “You wanna twist my words, you know, whatever. Sometimes, Magnus, a situation is not improved by your presence, however much you hate to hear that. I did what I did and made the most of the shitty situation you created. I’m not sorry about it.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s pretty clear.” Magnus’s heart races, blood pounding in his ears. He’s so – overwhelmed. He should step away and come back when he’s calmer, but that’s never been something he’s good at. He can’t stop thinking about that look in Taako’s eyes in the throne room and the things he said.</p><p>“We’re gonna have to work extra hard to get the Light now because you’re the one who fucked up any trust the king actually had in us – “</p><p>“Don’t think you’ll have to work that hard, he seems plenty chummy with you,” Magnus says, and feels a little thrill at the way Taako’s face tightens painfully. It’s wrong, but there’s something savagely vindictive about knowing he can make Taako feel something like that.</p><p>“I told you he likes me and Lup. Never said I was happy about it,” Taako says shortly.</p><p>“Laughed it up earlier though, huh?” Magnus says.</p><p>“Saving your stupid ass.”</p><p>Magnus nods. “Right, ‘cause I’m just a dumb kid.” He tries to say it offhand, but it doesn’t get past Taako.</p><p>“<em>Oh</em>.” Taako seems to realize something and his eyes narrow. “Oh, is that what this is about? You’re mad about that? Did I hurt your feelings when I saved your life? Oh, Maggie, poor baby.” His voice is mocking. “Maybe you <em>should</em> grow up.”</p><p>“I’m not being a baby!” Magnus <em>hurts</em>. He’s technically still twenty; every cycle they reset to the same physical state they started at, but at the same time, he’s lived so many years he’s older than he ever expected to be.</p><p>“You are. You’re too stupid to know when somebody’s doing something for your own good,” Taako says coldly.</p><p>“If I’m so fucking stupid and childish then what do you care?” Magnus hurls at him. “If you hate the idea of being with me so much – “</p><p>“Who said I hated it?” Taako demands. “Who the hell’s been sucking your dick all this time, then, huh? Was that not me?”</p><p>“Sure, when you decide you want to.”</p><p>“I should hope so,” Taako says, his voice icy.</p><p>Magnus’s face feels hot. “Not what I meant and you know it. I mean – you always get what <em>you</em> want, Taako, and fuck everybody else.”</p><p>Taako’s face hardens. “Is <em>that</em> what you think?”</p><p>“It’s what I know.”</p><p>Something about this particular statement has really made Taako angry, and Magnus can see it in the dangerous, humorless way he laughs. “Oh, yeah, I get what I want all the time!”</p><p>“It’s true, though!” Magnus insists, feeling surer and surer the more he thinks about it. “You know, today with the king, making him do what you wanted – “</p><p>“I cannot believe how ungrateful you are!” Taako turns away, hands on his forehead. “I always get what I want? Like I haven’t – <em>fuck</em> you, Magnus, you have no <em>idea</em> – “</p><p>Magnus, barely listening to him, grabs him by the arm and pulls him back around to face him. “<em>And</em> with me, half the time I, like, won’t see you for weeks and then you show up at my door all pouty like – “</p><p>Taako wrenches his arm away and backs up. “Hey, if you had a problem you could’ve brought it up anytime but up until now you’ve always seemed more than happy to see me, so don’t expect me to be able to read your mind!”</p><p>“I’m just saying! I know you only want me ‘cause I’m <em>there</em> or whatever, but – “</p><p>Taako sinks onto the edge of his bed. “Oh, you know that too, huh?”</p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” Magnus says again.</p><p>Taako smiles in a way that doesn’t light up his face like it usually would. “Huh. You don’t know me at all, do you?”</p><p>Magnus wonders if he should feel bad, and decides to ignore the impulse. He’s not sure he’s ever had Taako’s attention like this. He folds his arms across his chest. “If I don’t, is that my fault or yours? I’m always there when you want me to be, but – fucking – it’s like you’re <em>trying</em> to push me away the rest of the time.” Magnus isn’t sure he’s ever quite put into words, even in his head, why he’s felt so dissatisfied, but he feels clearer than he has in ages, even if it’s white-hot crystalline anger pumping through his veins. “It’s so fucking obvious, Taako, you only want me when everything else in your life goes to shit and then you use me as a distraction.”</p><p>Taako flinches a little, and looks away from Magnus. They’re both quiet a long moment, Magnus’s fists balled up at his sides, then Taako says, “If that’s what you think, that’s what you think. Not gonna say it’s my fault.” Taako picks at his cuticles. “I still won’t apologize for saving you today, though. Unless you’d prefer execution.”</p><p>Over <em>this</em>? Magnus lifts his hands in an elaborate shrug. “Maybe I would. Give me a break til the next cycle.”</p><p>Taako pauses, still looking down at his fingernails. “You’re very selfish,” he says quietly, not looking at Magnus.</p><p>“Yeah, well,” Magnus snarls, “that makes two of us.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure,” Taako says, and he mostly sounds like he’s given up. “Stopping the king from making my sister kill you makes me a real selfish prick.”</p><p>“Maybe it does,” Magnus snaps. “If you didn’t have me, you’d have to work a little harder to find somebody to get you off, wouldn’t you?”</p><p>“<em>Magnus</em>!” Taako looks up at him, eyes flashing dangerously.</p><p>Magnus knows he should stop, but he doesn’t. Can’t. Won’t, maybe. “Whatever,” he mumbles. “Maybe it wouldn’t be that tough for you. Like I said, you’ll always get everything you want.”</p><p>Taako slaps his palms on the mattress as he gets to his feet and points at the door. “Get the fuck out!” Magnus doesn’t move, and Taako stomps his foot. “Get <em>out</em>! Get lost, Magnus, I don’t want to look at you!”</p><p>Magnus stares at Taako for a moment, then says, “Fine. If this is what it’s gonna be like, I’m kind of over it anyway.”</p><p>Taako shakes his head and points more insistently. “Then go.”</p><p>Magnus wrenches the door open so violently he fears he might rip it off his hinges. Tears sting his eyes, some unpleasant mix of frustration and fury. “You know,” he says thickly, “you can’t just treat people like they’re nothing.”</p><p>Taako makes a frustrated noise deep in his throat. “Magnus, just – “</p><p>“Get out, I know,” Magnus finishes for him. “Yeah, I’m going.” He doesn’t look back at Taako when he leaves.</p><p> </p><p>Taako slouches out of his room and heads next door to where Lup has been staying. He walks in without knocking and finds Lup sitting at her desk, poring over a notebook. “Hey,” he says, and immediately goes to the bed, where he collapses facedown. He grabs a pillow and buries his face in it.</p><p>Lup spins her chair to face him. “How’re you doing?”</p><p>Taako looks up at her. “How much did you hear? No clue how thin these walls are.”</p><p>“I stopped listening about when I heard you yelling about fellatio,” Lup says cheerfully. Taako groans and presses his face back into the pillow, and Lup continues, “Look, I didn’t hear that much, just a lot of raised voices and your voice carries. I wasn’t <em>trying</em> to listen.”</p><p>“Good,” Taako says, his voice muffled by pillow. “’Cause I won’t apologize for you overhearing something you weren’t supposed to be listening to anyway.”</p><p>Taako hears the wheels on Lup’s desk chair scrape across the floor as she scoots over to the bed. “Hey, bud, I’m sorry, okay? You all right?”</p><p>Taako rolls over onto his back. “Yeah, I’m great.”</p><p>Lup stands and climbs onto the bed, kneeling next to him on the mattress. “You don’t look great.”</p><p>“Oh, you know,” Taako says, trying to sound indifferent. “Licking my wounds. I’ll be fine.”</p><p>Lup pets his hair. “Yeah, I know. But still.”</p><p>Taako looks up at her a long moment. “Look, just tell me I deserved it if you think I did.”</p><p>“I don’t, T, that’s the thing,” Lup says gently. “I mean…you know how I feel about this whole Magnus situation, you’ve been setting yourself up to get hurt for ages but it still sucks to watch it happen.” She pauses. “How bad <em>was</em> it?”</p><p>“Pretty bad.” Taako blows a puff of air out the side of his mouth. “He thinks I’m….I don’t know. Playing him, or using him, like I think he’s easy, or….I don’t know, Lup, it just sucks.”</p><p>“You know you could just….” She hesitates again. “Don’t get mad at me for saying it, but you really do like him, right?”</p><p>Taako glares at her. “What’s it to you?”</p><p>Lup shakes her head. “Just want you to be happy, bud.”</p><p>“It’s <em>complicated</em>.”</p><p>Lup throws her hands into the air. “Why’s it have to be? Me and Barry aren’t, we just love each other and that’s all there is to that.”</p><p>Taako rolls his eyes. “You and Barry aren’t both stubborn assholes.”</p><p>Lup grins, looking pleased. “Nah, that’s just <em>me</em>.”</p><p>“Runs in the family,” says Taako, pointing at himself. “But – you know – I ain’t gonna go grovel at his feet after the shit he pulled just now, you get me? If he thinks I’m a spoiled brat he can shove it up his ass, and that’s what hurts more than the rest of it, that he thinks I’m fucking entitled.”</p><p>Lup snorts. “Yeah, that’s out of line. Want me to kick his ass?”</p><p>Taako shakes his head. “And this morning on top of it. Lup, why do people keep gettin’ mad at me for keeping them alive?”</p><p>“You mean me?” Lup says, grinning even more toothily. “Hey, maybe we just don’t like your methods.”</p><p>Taako huffs, irritated. “Excuse me for wanting you alive. Are you on my side or what?”</p><p>“Of course I am.” Lup strokes his hair again. “That was a bad scene this morning, so you did what you did. Magnus doesn’t have to be happy about it.”</p><p>“Thanks for the backup on that, by the way.” Taako knows Lup didn’t love what he was saying even as he was saying it, but nobody else had tried anything to stop it, so it had to be Taako. It had to be, because losing Magnus wasn’t an option.</p><p>“Sure. I mean, shit, man, I thought he was gonna make me set poor Maggie on fire, so really I should thank <em>you</em>.” She’s quiet for a minute, then says, “I’d be upset if I were you too.”</p><p>Taako finally sits up, invigorated. “Thank you! I don’t understand why he had to even put himself in that position! I told him to stay away and he took it as, like, an insult instead of a warning!”</p><p>Lup smiles. “I mean, I <em>understand</em>, that doesn’t mean I think he’s right.” Taako looks at her quizzically, so Lup continues, “He really cares about you, Taako.”</p><p>Taako scoffs. “Sure he does. That’s why he was so fucking mean just now.”</p><p>“I love you, but you can be awfully fucking mean, too, you know.”</p><p>“But I haven’t been!” Taako protests. “Not to him!”</p><p>Lup looks at him sympathetically. “I know you haven’t <em>meant</em> to be.”</p><p>Taako groans and collapses onto his back again. Sometimes he regrets telling Lup everything, but there’s never much point to keeping things from her. Lup reads him like a book.</p><p>“Hey, listen,” Lup continues, “I’m not saying he’s off the hook either. I do think you’re very good at self-sabotage, though.”</p><p>Taako groans again. “Well – maybe it’s time to just move on. He’s pissed, I’m pissed, sometimes shit isn’t supposed to work out, maybe this is a sign.”</p><p>“Give it a little time before you call it,” Lup says. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we are positively made of time.”</p><p>Taako grins. “I’ve noticed.” Blindly he reaches out a hand to take Lup’s, and she loosely laces her fingers through his with a soft laugh.</p><p>“Does it help that I still love you?” Lup asks hopefully. “And that I always will?”</p><p>Taako feigns gagging. “Gross. Don’t get sappy on me.”</p><p>Lup laughs and lays down next to him. “Yeah, I thought maybe that took it too far.”</p><p>Taako exhales slowly and closes his eyes.</p><p>“You taking a nap right now, kid? We got work to do.” Lup shifts a little, like she’s trying to get off the bed, but Taako tightens his grip on her hand. Lup laughs.</p><p>“Who’s sappy now,” she mutters, and lays her head back down.</p><p>“Been a long day,” Taako murmurs back.</p><p>“Been a long life.” Lup tucks her free arm under her head and closes her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>The next couple of weeks are busy in the leadup to the Hunger’s arrival. They get nowhere in their plans to retrieve the Light of Creation until the last minute, when Lup finally suggests they just <em>steal</em> the damn thing if King Amadeus is so reluctant to part with it. The year’s end is a mad dash to steal the Light and get it back to the Starblaster before the Hunger arrives, thereby saving the ungrateful kingdom. It’s not easy or particularly fun, but they get away without losing anyone (except Merle, who spent most of the year in parlay) and all told, they can consider this a success.</p><p>The plane they’ve ended up on this time is more wilderness than civilization, with jagged rocks and cliffsides covering most of the planet, deepening into caverns so wide they would surely take days to traverse on foot. Naturally, the first order of business for the crew of the Starblaster is to explore the area around where their ship has touched down. They think they’re close to the Light of Creation this time, but they can’t be sure.</p><p>Magnus finds himself with Lup as they set out. It’s been far too busy for him to talk to either of the elves much about anything other than work lately, which suits Magnus fine, and clearly suits Taako too. However, Lup is as friendly as ever and Magnus takes it as a sign that he must be at least a <em>little</em> in the right if Lup hasn’t completely shunned him.</p><p>Lup walks ahead of Magnus as they explore the rocky outcrops. Her red IPRE coat and many blonde braids makes it easy for Magnus to keep his eyes on her against all the gray-brown of the landscape. She glances over her shoulder and grins. “You keeping up?”</p><p>“Doing my best.” Magnus has his axe out. They’ve done this enough that Magnus knows to expect the unexpected.</p><p>A cool breeze sweeps over them and Lup pauses, looking up at the sky. It’s gray in the same way the rocks are, like it’s about to rain. “You know, Maggie, you did good back at the end there. Helpin’ us get the Light of Creation out.”</p><p>Magnus shrugs. “Done it a million times.”</p><p>“Yeah, I guess.” They’re walking again now, the terrain growing gradually more rugged. Lup’s quiet a bit longer, then she says, “Give Taako time to chill, he’ll be fine.”</p><p>Magnus’s face grows warm. “I don’t – “</p><p>“Hey, look, don’t tell him I said anything but since he’s – “ Lup flaps a hand to their right, illustrating Taako’s approximate location, “not here right now, it’s as good a time as any to let you know that, like, he just needs a little time to cool down and pull his head out of his ass.”</p><p>Magnus can’t help laughing. “I’m sort of trying not to think about it? But thanks.”</p><p>“No problem, Mags. I like you,” Lup says breezily, “and I like how Taako is around you.”</p><p>“How’s that?” Magnus asks, bewildered.</p><p>Lup considers. “Comfortable. Himself. He’s still got some walls up but I think you get ‘em down more than anybody I’ve seen besides me.”</p><p>This is an almost overwhelmingly surprising statement, but Lup says it so offhandedly that Magnus barely has time to process it before they have to stop in their tracks. Ahead of them, two rocky outcrops come together, probably ten feet tall and very wide, blocking off most of the path except for a small space between them. Certainly small enough for an elf, but not for Magnus. Lup grins up at him. “Well?”</p><p>“I don’t think you should go alone,” Magnus says cautiously.</p><p>Lup just keeps grinning, a mischievous glint in her gray eyes. “I’ll be fine,” she says. “I got magic powers. And, you know, you right behind me. What’s the matter, Mr. Rush In?”</p><p>“See, that’s the problem, Lup, is I should really go ahead of you,” Magnus protests.</p><p>Lup tosses her hair and zips her jacket. “We haven’t seen shit all afternoon and I’m <em>bored</em>.” Before Magnus can stop her, Lup dashes ahead and disappears catlike through the gap in the stone.</p><p>“Lup, come on!” Magnus hurries to the rocks and peers through the gap. Beyond the rocks, the scenery is more of the same, though it looks like it slopes downward towards some ravine. Lup wanders back and forth a little, peering up the cliffsides.</p><p>“There’s a path up into the mountains here,” Lup says, pointing. “But I don’t think – hey.” Lup backs up, her body suddenly tense. “Hey, there’s like a little cave here.” She takes a couple of steps toward it, then something growls and Lup shrieks as something springs at her, knocking her out of sight</p><p>“Lup!” Heart pounding, Magnus swings his axe at the stone wildly, and finds the stone soft enough for the axe to dig in. It’s a little awkward and unwieldy, but with the axe as leverage Magnus manages to clamber over the stone outcrop. He drops down to the other side in time to see Lup, locked in combat with some sort of reptilian creature. It has her pinned to the ground, but Lup brings up her foot and kicks it in the underbelly, then flings a fireball at it.</p><p>The creature hisses and backs up, giving Lup enough time to scramble to her feet, and Magnus can see she’s bleeding from a wound on her thigh. The creature is large, ten feet long and low to the ground but twice as broad as Magnus, with long claws and sharp teeth. It hisses again and lunges at Lup, who springs back. “Mother<em>fucker</em>!” She has a hand pressed to the wound on her leg, but her leggings are already soaked with blood. Magnus is usually a <em>stand and fight</em> sort of guy, but right now he’s pretty sure he needs to get Lup out of here and back to the Starblaster for a healing potion. He readies his axe and runs forward, taking a swing at it. He catches the creature in the side, not enough to do much damage but enough to get its attention off Lup. It snarls and lunges for him, a maneuver Magnus manages to avoid before using the handle of his axe to bash it over the head. The creature seems momentarily dazed, but otherwise undeterred, and resumes its threatening behavior.</p><p>“Mags, don’t kill it, it’s defending itself,” Lup says, beginning to edge her way back the way she’d come. As if to contradict her, the creature lunges again, taking a swipe with its claws, and both Magnus and Lup back up. Behind them is a steep incline; there is not a lot of room here for a fight.</p><p>“You sure about that?” Magnus says sharply, feeling more like he’s being hunted to be this creature’s dinner. He doesn’t like the way cautious way Lup is moving and how heavily she’s favoring her injured leg. She’s on her feet, but her face has gone pale, freckles standing out harshly against her ill pallor. Unsteady but careful, Lup limps back toward the rock she’d climbed through. The creature is so big and the path so narrow that it has both Magnus and Lup boxed in between the rocks and the ravine. Magnus tries to shift over to block Lup from the creature’s view.</p><p>Suddenly, the creature springs, pushing Magnus and Lup to opposite sides of the path, pinning Magnus to the rocks and knocking Lup to the ground perilously close to the ravine.</p><p>“Magnus!” Lup says, and Magnus can’t see her from his vantage point, but he can feel the heat of the fire she flings at the creature. It roars, exposing sharp white teeth altogether too close to Magnus’s face, and whirls on Lup, its heavy tail catching Magnus in the side and knocking him down. Momentarily winded, Magnus can only watch as the creature advances on Lup, who backs up. She stumbles a little, and, unable to get her footing with her injured leg, falls – right over the side of the ravine. Magnus hears her shriek, and to his horror, the creature simply dives after her eagerly.</p><p>“Lup!” Magnus yells, and scrambles back to his feet, snatching up his axe and sprinting to the edge of the path. It’s very steep, though not a straight drop-off. Lup probably rolled at least part of the way down, but Magnus can see her in a heap at the bottom. She doesn’t seem able to move much, but she’s still conjuring balls of fire to keep the creature away from her.</p><p>Magnus takes a step forward and half slides, half falls down the side of the ravine until he’s on his feet at the bottom, then, swinging his axe, runs to where the creature is trying its best to figure out the simplest way to get at Lup. She is not making it easy for it, that’s for sure; the creature has what appear to be burns on its face and front legs, but Lup looks worse than ever, and Magnus doesn’t take more than a cursory glance at her before bringing his axe down on the creature’s back. He can’t assess damage until he eliminates the threat.</p><p>The creature, now quite badly wounded, screeches in pain. Magnus lets out a wordless roar back at it, and now that it’s hurt, it seems intimidated. Magnus swings the axe again – not to hit it, just to scare it – and the creature recoils. Magnus draws himself to his full height, trying to look as big as possible, and charges forward – and the creature finally turns tail and runs. Magnus watches until he’s sure it’s leaving, then he drops the axe and runs back to where Lup lies on the ground.</p><p>“Lup,” he pants, dropping to his knees. “Lup, are you okay?”</p><p>Lup groans, dropping her head back. “Fuck. No. I think I’m pretty banged up.” Her bleeding leg is bent at an angle that Magnus doesn’t want to look at too closely. Her breath is coming in sharp, shallow bursts, and Magnus notices that there’s a puddle of blood under her back. Clumsily, Lup reaches down and tries to press her hand against whatever wound is there. “Feels like I got stabbed.”</p><p>Magnus’s heart races. “Hold still. I’m gonna try to roll you over, okay?”</p><p>Lup nods, gritting her teeth. Carefully, Magnus eases his hands under her, one at her shoulder and one at her lower back, and gently pushes her onto her side. Lup lets out a yell as she rolls over, and her body is pulled free of a branch that had clearly impaled her when she landed.</p><p>“<em>Shit</em>,” Magnus says. There is a deep, bloody puncture wound just below her ribcage, and Lup winces and whimpers when Magnus tries to touch it. “We need to get you back. Right now.” Fuck, where was a cleric when you needed one? She’s bleeding in two places with a broken leg to boot, and Magnus has no idea how bad this is.</p><p>“Lup!” Taako’s panicked voice calls, and they both look up to see Taako peering down from the path. His eyes widen, and he jumps off the side of the ravine, and like Magnus, half slides and half stumbles his way down.</p><p>“Hey, bud,” Lup greets him, eyelids barely managing to stay open. “You look better’n me for once.”</p><p>“I heard you yell,” Taako says, and drops to his knees next to Magnus. “What <em>happened</em>?”</p><p>“Monster tried to eat me,” Lup says clearly, “then a tree stabbed me in the back. You good?”</p><p>“Am I – “ Taako breaks off with a huff. “I’m fine! You’re not!”</p><p>Magnus shrugs off his jacket and goes to work tearing off one of the sleeves to try to make a bandage for Lup’s leg. “We need to get her back to the ship,” he says to Taako as he wraps the cloth around her wounded thigh. Lup presses a palm to her mouth and bites down on it, whimpering softly as tears come to her eyes.</p><p>“No <em>shit</em>,” Taako says, looking nearly as pale as his sister. “Can you stand, Lulu?”</p><p>“No, I can’t fucking stand,” Lup snaps, though she doesn’t have half the venom she usually reserves for bickering with her brother.</p><p>Magnus looks her over, glances up at the path above them, and sees no real alternative. “Sorry, Lup,” Magnus says, knowing this is going to be agony, and scoops her up in his arms as he stands.</p><p>Lup wails in pain, and Taako stands too, suddenly tense as he says, like it’s an instinct, “<em>Don’t hurt her</em>!”</p><p>Magnus looks at Taako, suddenly taken by how genuinely scared he looks. “Taako – hey, of course not, never. But we gotta get her back to the ship and I can’t carry her without - ”</p><p>“I’m <em>right here</em>,” Lup says, though she looks like she might have come close to passing out from the pain. “Quit talking about me like I’m not.”</p><p>“Sorry,” Magnus says, and tries to shift her in his arms so he can carry her as securely and comfortably as possible. Lup and Taako are more than half a foot shorter than Magnus, but so is Barry; Magnus has never thought of the elves as particularly <em>small</em> until this moment. Lup’s weight in his arms is so slight it almost feels like she’s not there. “Does this hurt less?” Magnus asks Lup once he’s holding her in such a way that her bad leg isn’t completely crushed against his chest.</p><p>“No,” Lup says shortly, “but it’s the best you’re gonna do. Can we go?”</p><p>They make it back to the Starblaster in less time than Magnus would have expected, though by the time they get there Lup is barely clinging to consciousness and Taako is half a step away from full-blown panic mode. He runs ahead of Magnus onto the ship, already shouting for Merle.</p><p>“Merle’s not here,” Lucretia says as she comes out of the cockpit. She catches sight of Lup in Magnus’s arms and her eyes widen. “What happened?”</p><p>“The fuck do you mean he’s not here?” Taako demands.</p><p>“He said he had an argument to win and went right back to parlay – “</p><p>Taako lets out a wordless yell before she can finish, and kicks the nearest wall, an impulse Magnus can certainly relate to but has never seen from Taako. “What the fuck,” he says, glowering, “is the point of having a goddamn cleric if he’s never here when we need him to heal us?” He gestures wildly at Lup. “She’s gonna fucking die and next time I see that dwarf I’ll kick his ass straight – “</p><p>“She’s not going to die,” Lucretia says, hurrying to Magnus’s side and touching Lup’s cheek. “I can cure wounds and we have potions in the med bay – where is Barry? Can someone find him?”</p><p>“Step ahead of you,” says Davenport’s voice, and Magnus turns to see Davenport boarding the ship with Barry behind him.</p><p>“Oh good,” Lucretia says, relieved, and puts a hand on Magnus’s back, steering him and Lup toward the med bay. Taako sticks to Lup like glue the entire time, while the rest of the crew follows.</p><p>Magnus lays Lup on the cot in the med bay. Her color is awful, a few shades lighter than she should be and starting to tinge green. On the other side of the cot, Lucretia rummages through drawers until she finds the potion she’s after.</p><p>“Mags,” mumbles Lup. Her condition has worsened rapidly even on the short hike back to the ship. Magnus quickly grabs her limp hand.</p><p>“Right here,” Magnus says, and Lup opens her eyes a little. Before either of them can say anything else, Taako is elbowing Magnus in the ribs, nudging him aside.</p><p>“Move, you lug!”</p><p>Magnus only now realizes he’s been stupidly, uselessly standing in the way, and he immediately moves aside to let Taako take his place, Barry right next to him. Lucretia stands over Lup and nervously shakes out her hands.</p><p>“I’m not as good at this as Merle is,” she says anxiously. “I won’t be able to do as much, but between me and the healing potion I should be able to stabilize – “</p><p>“Would you do it already,” Taako says tersely.</p><p>Lucretia lays her hands on Lup and closes her eyes, breathing deeply. Moments later, Lup’s color has improved, closer to normal. Her broken leg straightens into a more natural position and the wound closes, making it look a few days old instead of fresh and bleeding. Lucretia opens her eyes and quickly reaches for the healing potion. With Taako’s help, she props Lup into a seated position and pours the potion into her mouth. Lup swallows it and slumps back against her brother. The potion, too, improves her color, and she seems to be relying on Taako’s support slightly less. She lifts her head and looks around at everyone, and her movements seem a little less pained.</p><p>“How are you feeling?” Barry asks her gently.</p><p>“Been better,” she says wryly. “Been worse, too.”</p><p>Lucretia puts aside the empty bottle, shaking her head. “I’m not as skilled as Merle, I can’t get you back to a hundred percent. If you rest overnight you should be closer to normal by morning.”</p><p>“Rest sounds good,” Lup says brightly, and Taako helps her lay back down. Magnus can’t remember seeing him this worried, or, indeed, this quiet. Lup looks up at Taako, and says, “Hey, T, you all right?”</p><p>Taako doesn’t answer, just leans down and hugs her (“ow, <em>easy</em>, bud, be gentle!”). Lucretia nods at Davenport, and quietly walks out of the med bay, Davenport at her heels.</p><p>Lup reaches past Taako to squeeze Barry’s hand and says, “Gimme five minutes, okay?”</p><p>Barry opens his mouth to speak, but Magnus grabs him by the arm. “Let’s take a walk, Barry.” Magnus finds he doesn’t particularly want to leave Lup either – after all, she was bleeding out mere minutes ago – but he’s known Taako and Lup long enough to pick up their cues, and all cues tell him there’s a twin moment happening that they’d rather not be observed for.</p><p>Magnus and Barry leave the med bay and Magnus finds he’s exhausted. A nap sounds better than a walk at the moment, but a walk will help them both calm down. He thinks they need it.</p><p> </p><p>It’s quite a bit later that evening when Magnus knocks on Taako’s door, a little hesitant. He isn’t even sure Taako will be here, or if he’s still with Lup. However, after a moment he hears Taako softly call, “Come in,” so Magnus does.</p><p>Taako is sprawled on his bed in the darkened room, the only light coming from the many strands of lights he’s strung across the ceiling. Magnus has been in here before, but it’s been some time. Almost none of the lights match; his style is whimsical if not particularly beautiful, a peek beyond Taako’s polished façade into the ribbon of true strangeness that threads through Taako’s personality.</p><p>All the shelves in the room are full, and Taako has nailed up (or maybe magicked into place) extra boards as bonus shelves. The shelves, predictably, hold a few books – magical theory and spell books, if Magnus had to guess – but more often the shelves are loaded with trinkets Taako has collected over the years, same as Magnus is sure would be true of any bedroom on this ship. In Taako’s case, he has a myriad of shiny things – golden frames, twisted pieces of polished metal, rings and earrings, sparkly stones. It’s all wonderfully eccentric, just like Taako.</p><p>The elf in question looks up at Magnus as he enters. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hi,” Magnus says, shutting the door behind him but staying near it, uncertain if he’s welcome. They haven’t really talked since their fight, and Magnus doesn’t know if what happened today erases it or not.</p><p>Taako sits up and sweeps his hair out of his face. He’s not wearing his hat, which always makes him look small, and he’s dressed in slouchy leggings and a huge shirt that entirely hides the shape of his body. He looks comfortable but for the worry on his face. “What’s up, Magnus?”</p><p>He doesn’t sound even a little hostile, which is a good sign. Magnus stands where he is, reaching into his pocket. “I, um. I brought you something.”</p><p>Taako perks up, smiling a little. “You did? Come here. Show me.”</p><p>Magnus goes to him and sits down next to him on the bed, which creaks in protest. He removes the stone from his pocket – a smooth, blue-green stone that looks like it has gray smoke swirling inside it. It fits neatly in the palm of Magnus’s hand, but he passes it to Taako, who holds it up to eye level to examine it curiously.</p><p>Magnus clears his throat. “I found it, um. When I went took Barry for a walk this afternoon to, you know, calm him down. There was a clearing with a lot of stones just like that and Barry thought there was something magic about them but he couldn’t tell if they were enchanted or if they just had those – “ He tries to remember how he’s heard Barry and the twins talk about magic. “If they had those properties by themselves. He couldn’t tell. Anyway, he thought you might be able to.”</p><p>“So you took a stone you thought was magic from the clearing where you found it? Sounds smart.” Taako laughs softly, balancing the stone in his hand.</p><p>“Barry thought if nothing happened when I took it we’d probably be in the clear,” Magnus says mulishly. “And nothing happened.”</p><p>“That you know of,” Taako says ominously, and laughs again. He rolls the stone between his palms. The stormy gray interior swirls. “It’s magic, yeah. I’ll have to look a little closer and figure out what it’s doing.”</p><p>Magnus shrugs. “I’m glad it’s something. I’d feel kinda dumb if it wasn’t. I mean, I really only wanted to take one because they reminded me – “ <em>Of your eyes, the way they look like the sky after a storm</em>. Magnus catches himself. “I just thought they were pretty,” he finishes a little lamely.</p><p>Taako grins at him like he knows what Magnus didn’t say. “Well, thanks, man.” He gets up on his knees and reaches past Magnus to push the stone onto the shelf nearest his bed, where he’s also nestled a strange, overgrown potted plant alongside a couple of books that look so old Magnus has to think Taako brought them along from the very start of the journey. The stone swirls and sparkles and Taako smiles toothily before flopping down next to Magnus again. “I’ll ask Lup to play around with it with me in the morning and we’ll figure out what it’s for. I’d ask her now but she was so tired she passed the fuck out after Lucretia healed her.” He pauses, smile fading. “So I guess I owe you a thank you. And an apology for freaking out like I did.”</p><p>“No, come on,” Magnus says sharply. “You don’t owe me shit, I’m just doing – “ He breaks off with a sigh. “I know you fucking hate when I say it but it’s my job to keep all of you safe.”</p><p>“I do fucking hate when you say it,” Taako admits. He’s lying on his back with an arm draped over his eyes. “But, like, I guess if we have a healer who just wants to fuck off and die every time the cycle resets, there’s only so much damage ol’ Taako and Lup can take before we’re gonzo.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Magnus says. He wants to put a comforting hand on Taako but doesn’t want to startle him or cross any boundaries, so he doesn’t do it.</p><p>Taako moves his arm and sits up. He blows a puff of air out of his mouth. “Lup coulda died today. And I know it’s not, like, permanent – but we just got here, and shit, Maggie, I can’t do a whole year – a whole year where she’s dead. She’s too fuckin’ cavalier about her stupid life lately, she takes it for granted that we reset but every time she – “ He teeters for a moment, wavering as he tries to find the right words. “Whenever Lup dies or – or almost dies, or whatever - all I can think is, what if this is it, what if this is the last cycle and we don’t reset and we just stay here forever and then, Mags, and then the rest of my life flashes before my eyes, and she’s not in it and I can’t…” He breaks off again. “I don’t wanna live like that. Maybe it doesn’t matter to her, maybe she doesn’t understand how I feel when I see her like that. Maybe if our positions are reversed, she doesn’t feel like I do ‘cause she knows I’m comin’ back or something.”</p><p>“Hey, Taako?” Magnus says gently, “as someone who’s seen it? She doesn’t take losing you lightly.” Several cycles ago, Lup died when something went wrong trying to retrieve the Light of Creation. It was only weeks before the Hunger arrived, but those weeks were rough on Taako. He got quiet. He cared less about his cooking and spent a lot more time in his room. He only talked when somebody else talked to him first and he got <em>mean</em>. Taako without Lup isn’t fun to be around; it hurts because Taako’s so unkind and un-Taako-like, and it hurts because Taako’s hurting so bad.</p><p>A couple of cycles after that, Taako died in a freak accident six months in. Lup’s scream of grief when she found out is something Magnus has had a hard time getting out of his head since. Lup was inconsolable. Magnus is sure Taako cries a lot when Lup dies, but he hides it in a way Lup doesn’t, or can’t. Lup was red-eyed for days after, and then she went back to work tirelessly on whatever project she and Barry had going that year, Magnus can’t even remember now. She’d work and work until she was practically falling down and somebody had to pull her away and force her to rest, but even her rest didn’t seem rejuvenating. If Taako without Lup is withdrawn and mean, Lup without Taako is restless and exhausted, both of them with a deep current of sadness piercing through them.</p><p>“Death is death,” Magnus says. “Even if it’s not permanent.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Taako wraps his arms around himself. “It’d be different if she was like, on vacation, or if she just lived a long way away. Then I know she’s out there, safe. I can write her, or call her. But when she’s dead – shit, then I just have to wait out the rest of the year or try to decide if it’d be better if I just died myself to get there faster. Don’t look at me like that, either, Magnus, I’m not gonna do anything stupid, but, you know. First time she died I wished I went with her.” He flicks his eyes up to meet Magnus’s. “I really fucking hate it when she dies. So thanks. For being there for her today.”</p><p>“You know I’d do it anytime, for any of you.”</p><p>Taako sighs. “I don’t know when this whole crew decided it’s fine to play fast and loose with their lives, but it’s not. I don’t get how you all – I don’t know. Act like it’s nothing.”</p><p>“I don’t think it’s nothing,” Magnus says, and Taako laughs.</p><p>“You think I’m not talking about you, big guy? You think you’re not out there rushing carelessly into danger and death? Thirteen times, by the way, my man. That’s how many times you’ve bit it.” He looks up at him and the unspoken truth is that it came close to being fourteen. Maybe Magnus doesn’t realize how close he was to dying that day in the king’s throne room.</p><p>Still, it’s different when it’s Magnus. “That’s my <em>job</em>,” he says futilely. “Protecting all of you is why I got <em>hired</em>.”</p><p>Taako rolls his eyes and folds his arms across the chest. “Right, sure. Lot of good you do us dead.”</p><p>Magnus has never really thought about it that way before. He hadn’t realized Taako was keeping count of Magnus’s deaths. Wonders if he’s keeping tabs on everyone or just on Magnus and, undoubtedly, Lup.</p><p>Magnus does some quick calculations in his head. Taako has died five times at this point. Magnus has washed Taako’s blood off his hands two of those five. He’s not sure about Lup but she must clock in at only one or two deaths more than Taako. The twins are cautious by nature, though Magnus thinks if Taako weren’t a factor Lup would be more reckless. They’ve died fewer times than anyone but Lucretia.</p><p>Taako is watching Magnus carefully. Magnus exhales. Dying isn’t <em>fun</em>, it hurts and it’s scary, but in the end it’s a few seconds of blackness and then he’s back on the Starblaster. Dying is a temporary side effect these days. He’d never really thought about how the others might feel when he dies. “I didn’t know it mattered.” Didn’t know it mattered <em>to Taako</em>.</p><p>“Well, it does.” Taako’s voice is light, though his face doesn’t reflect it. “Think about it. If you throw yourself recklessly in front of the first threat you see every cycle….what if we need you later? You dying doesn’t protect us.”</p><p>Magnus nods, and tries to match Taako’s tone. “So next time I see you in trouble, you’re telling me I shouldn’t help you, right? That’s what you’re saying?”</p><p>“Well.” Taako rubs the back of his neck. “Look, you gotta trust me when I say I have something under control, okay? And I don’t exactly plan on <em>getting in trouble</em>, Magnus. If <em>I’m</em> in trouble, we’re probably all already fucked.”</p><p>Magnus can’t help grinning. “Fair point. That go for Lup, too, then?”</p><p>Taako shakes his head. “No. You help Lup if you think she needs it, I don’t care how much she says she doesn’t.”</p><p>“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Magnus says casually. “And don’t think it’s just ‘cause she’s your sister. I love Lup just because she’s Lup.”</p><p>Taako finally flashes a grin. “Listen, she’s <em>awfully</em> easy to love. Easier than me, admit it.”</p><p>Magnus laughs. “I don’t think that’s true at all.”</p><p>“You flatter me,” Taako says, preening, “but most would disagree.”</p><p>“Not true,” Magnus insists.</p><p>“Even Lup knows it,” Taako says with a laugh and a roll of his eyes. “She’s the likable one. I’m <em>prickly</em>.” He smirks, pleased with his own assessment.</p><p>“She loves you, Taako.”</p><p>“Oh – I know, Magnus, shit.” He laughs again, playing absentmindedly with his own hair. A lot of it has, as usual, come out of its braid, so Taako begins sectioning off pieces to create a second, smaller braid next to his face. “Don’t worry about <em>that</em>, I <em>know</em> Lup loves me, that’s the only thing I know for sure in the – “ He pauses. “I was gonna say world, but world’s not big enough anymore, is it?” He shrugs dismissively. “Whatever. Don’t worry about me and Lup, Magnus, we’re good.”</p><p>Magnus exhales slowly, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. There are stars stuck to it that probably used to glow in the dark, but have been there for so many years now they’ve lost their shine. He’s not sure what he’s doing here or if he should leave. He’s not sure if he and Taako have taken this relationship as far as it can go and if he’s now just battering down a brick wall trying to make it anything else. He could tell Taako it’s not just Lup who loves him – they all love him, all six of them. They’ve been together so long, how could they not? How could Magnus not? “Taako, I – “</p><p>“Magnus, we need to talk,” Taako says even as Magnus begins.</p><p>“Shit. Okay.” Magnus stops and waits.</p><p>Taako tucks one leg under himself and draws the other knee up to his chest, resting an elbow on it. He looks at Magnus for a moment, then laughs. “Don’t, like….it doesn’t have to be a thing. I – fuck, Magnus, I’m sorry.”</p><p>“You already apologized for earlier,” Magnus says, bewildered. “And it’s not a big deal, you were worried, I get it.”</p><p>“No, I mean before,” Taako says hesitantly. “Like, these last few years, and especially last cycle…. I never meant to hurt you, okay? I’m sorry I did.”</p><p>Magnus shakes his head. “Bygones, right?” He sighs. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”</p><p>“I just don’t want you to think, I don’t know,” Taako stubbornly isn’t meeting Magnus’s eyes, like it’s easier to say this to the wall, “that I think you’re some big dumb idiot kid or something. I don’t actually think that, I should have told you before.” He pauses. “You are an idiot sometimes. And you are very young, Magnus, the cycles don’t change the fact that if you were an elf you wouldn’t even be a fucking <em>adult</em> yet.”</p><p>“Okay,” Magnus says slowly. “Is there a <em>but</em> coming?”</p><p>“Yeah, point is I care about you and I’m sorry,” Taako snaps. “I wasn’t trying to, like, use you or – or hurt your feelings, though to be fair, you never did tell me you expected anything more than what we had! I’m not a mind reader, Magnus, how was I supposed to know?” He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “But that’s not the point. I think I knew and that was why I even went to you that day in the first place.” He laughs. “Feels like forever ago, but you know, right at the beginning of that cycle when Lup was pissed about me saving her life when the rest of you died.”</p><p>“Yeah, I remember,” Magnus says steadily.</p><p>“Yeah.” Taako exhales. “I just hate – you know, I hate watching all of you die and then Lup was mad at me and I was really having a bad day. So I guess it was easy and I knew you’d be sweet and I like that about you. Guess you kind of make me think maybe there are good people left. Just, really good people.” Taako tries to smile, and Magnus feels warmed from the inside out. He doesn’t think of himself as a really good person, just somebody who tries to do his best. Hearing it from Taako, who tends to jump to the worst possible conclusions about people, is….<em>nice</em>. “I didn’t mean for it to turn into a thing, that I was only going to you when I was upset, but I think…I tried to avoid thinking about it. About you. But then when things get bad and I get in my head or I get upset and I can’t stay away because you’re…well, you’re <em>you</em>.” Taako heaves a sigh.</p><p>Magnus furrows his brow, uncomprehending.</p><p>“Anyway,” Taako continues, “the fucking problem, Magnus, is that I like you more than I meant to. And that sucks for a lot of reasons, but none of ‘em are your fault so I’m sorry I pushed you away because of it.”</p><p>“It doesn’t have to suck,” Magnus protests. “Why does it suck? Taako, if you would just let me – “</p><p>“Let you <em>what</em>? Let you <em>fix me</em>? Or <em>save</em> me any time you think I need it?” Taako groans and covers his face with his hands. “I don’t want that!”</p><p>Magnus shakes his head. “I like you the way you are. You don’t need fixing, Taako, why would you say that?”</p><p>“I know I don’t, I just don’t want you to think I do!” Taako sighs. He uncovers his face and instead buries it against Magnus’s shoulder. Magnus’s heart rate picks up like this is the first time Taako has ever touched him. Still, he puts an arm around Taako and Taako inches closer almost unconsciously.</p><p>“I don’t think that,” Magnus says gently.</p><p>“Fucking hell, Magnus, you’re always looking for something to rescue,” Taako mumbles against his shoulder.</p><p>“I….” Magnus suddenly feels concerned that Taako might have had the wrong idea about his intentions from the get-go. “It’s not about that. I just like you.”</p><p>“I – fuck, okay.” Taako makes a noise between a groan and a wail. “I’m no good at feelings talk, Mags. Sorry.” He finally looks up at Magnus with his stormy gray eyes. “Caring about people is the worst.”</p><p>Magnus thinks about the times he’s seen Taako die. He thinks about every cycle reset and his brief reunions with Merle before Merle disappears to take care of anything left undone before he parlays with John once again. He thinks about Lup, today, teeth gritted in pain. It hurts. It hurts every time.</p><p>“When we left home,” Taako says slowly, “it was just me and Lup and I thought, you know, as long as I have her, I’m okay. I didn’t expect….” He breaks off. “This is why it hurt when you said what you did about me being used to getting what I want. ‘Cause for most of my life I never did, right? If I didn’t have Lup I wouldn’t have fucking anything.”</p><p>Guilt sweeps over Magnus in a wave. “I’m sorry I said that. I was just mad.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know you were, kid.” Taako sighs. “And I’m sorry I called you stupid. We all say shit we don’t mean when we’re mad.”</p><p>Magnus shrugs. “It’s okay. It happens.” He made the conscious decision to try put all that behind him. He’d tried to move on and focus on other things, but it’s possible Taako is not a person one can move on from.</p><p>Taako’s hand is on Magnus’s leg, almost absentminded, like he’s just trying to be close to him. It’s a nice notion. “It sucks because it’s hard enough having one person whose death could ruin your life. I didn’t ask for two.”</p><p>Magnus looks at Taako, bewildered. “What?”</p><p>“I need you alive, Magnus, that’s all I’m saying.” His voice is quiet, his face turned away from him. “The whole deal with King Amadeus last year, I was just – he wanted you dead <em>so</em> bad, my man, and that’s not something I’m okay with.” He sighs again. “I’m used to doing what needs to be done. You alive and mad at me is still a lot better than you dead. If the consequence is you gettin’ mad at me over it, it’s still worth it.”</p><p>Magnus’s heart is all aflutter. “I was just worried about you, too, you know that?” He’d said it was for Lup and Lucretia too, and it <em>was</em>, but Taako….Taako is too important and Magnus hates to see him hurt. Physically or otherwise.</p><p>“Yeah, I know,” Taako says wryly. “Big hero you are. I love that about you but god, it’s a lot to handle.” He sighs again.</p><p>Magnus has never heard Taako drop the word <em>love</em> in reference to anything about Magnus before. “I didn’t mean to make you worry,” Magnus says sincerely. “I didn’t know.”</p><p>Taako shrugs, shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile. “You couldn’t have. I never talked to you about how I felt. I thought….I thought I could have the best of both worlds, y’know? Not have to talk about my feelings and still, like, be close to you.”</p><p>It is apparent how much Taako hates talking about his feelings; every word sounds like a struggle, and Magnus can’t help laughing a little, even though his mind is racing. “I mean, I’m not gonna complain about the sex, Taako, don’t get me wrong.”</p><p>Taako snorts. “<em>Better</em> not. <em>Shit</em>. Wouldn’t get any more of it if you did, would you.”</p><p>Magnus laughs again. “So what happened?” he prompts him. “With your best of both worlds plan?”</p><p>Taako shakes his head. “Wasn’t really a plan. The problem is…” He breaks off with a sigh. “The problem is I love you? I’ve loved you for a long time?” His voice goes up at the end, like it’s a question. He still doesn’t look at Magnus, staring down at his hands instead.</p><p>Not long ago, Magnus would have taken this for indifference. Now, though, especially after everything Taako has said today, he’s sure Taako is scared – scared Magnus won’t reciprocate? How can Taako be afraid of that?</p><p>Magnus can’t fathom doing anything other than what he does now – he reaches for Taako’s chin and turns his face to his, and before either of them can say anything more he kisses Taako. He kisses Taako in a way he hopes expresses everything he’s felt for years, every bit of affection and fondness and yes, love.</p><p>Taako doesn’t seem surprised. Maybe a little relieved. He makes a noise that might be a sob, and his hand comes up to cup Magnus’s cheek – then he just throws his arms around Magnus’s neck and hugs him tight. Magnus wraps his arms around Taako and pulls him into his lap, where Taako firmly buries his face against Magnus’s shoulder.</p><p>“Say it back,” Taako says, voice muffled, “before I regret everything.”</p><p>Magnus laughs – he can’t help it. “I love you too,” he says in disbelief. “How can you not know that, Taako?”</p><p>“You never said it. I’m not a mind reader.” Taako’s face is still hidden, but Magnus can just picture his glowering gray eyes.</p><p>Magnus has loved Taako since he first met him, he thinks. Maybe shortly thereafter. This haughty magical elf with his snark and his prickly exterior and his heart that’s really too big for that narrow chest – <em>he’s</em> all Magnus has wanted for a very long time.</p><p>Magnus kisses his forehead. “I love you,” he says, and it’s a promise. Taako’s arms tighten around his neck.</p><p>Taako shifts a little, settling more comfortably in Magnus’s lap. Magnus likes having him here. He fits in his arms like he was made for this. “Lup is going to be insufferable,” Taako says suddenly.</p><p>Magnus laughs. “Why?”</p><p>“’Cause I can’t keep shit from her and she knew I loved you before I did,” Taako grumbles. “So it’s gonna suck while she gloats.”</p><p>Magnus slides his arms off a little, moving Taako so he can finally see his face. Taako’s long eyelashes cling together, a little damp like he had come close to crying. Magnus kisses him gently. “Worth it, I hope.”</p><p>Taako flashes him a toothy grin. “Yeah. It’s worth it.” He pauses for a moment and then, because Taako can’t let a moment just be <em>nice</em>, adds, “This crew needs a power couple anyway and sorry, but it ain’t gonna be her and Barry.”</p><p>Magnus laughs and kisses Taako. Kisses him again and again until he can feel Taako smiling against his mouth, snuggling close to him like a very contented cat.</p><p>Magnus has heard it’s a bad idea to fall in love with somebody you work with, but the crew of the Starblaster has been more like family for a long time anyway. And this in particular, he thinks as he settles back onto Taako’s bed with Taako in his arms, feels more right than anything else in the universe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you read this whole thing, you're awesome. Thanks for sticking it out until the end.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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